


A Cruel Twist Of Fate

by Syifrae



Category: Iron Man (Movies), The Avengers (Marvel) - All Media Types, Thor (Movies)
Genre: Falling In Love, Family, Friendship, FrostIron Big Bang, Internalised Racism, Loss, M/M, Magic, Mpreg, Science, Slow Build
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2014-10-19
Updated: 2014-10-19
Packaged: 2018-02-21 19:38:22
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 29,126
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/2480021
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Syifrae/pseuds/Syifrae
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Loki was secretly pregnant during the invasion and has the baby while in prison. Because he fears what Odin will do to a bastard half-breed he sends his child to Alfheim through a portal where a friend is waiting to take care until Loki can make his own escape. The spell is interrupted and the portal doesn't open where it should.<br/>Meanwhile, on earth, Tony finds himself with an armful of alien blue baby and decides finders keepers still applies in situations like these. Soon enough the truth comes out and Loki is invited to join their strange little family and finds himself feeling more accepted that he had ever felt on Asgard.</p>
            </blockquote>





	A Cruel Twist Of Fate

**Author's Note:**

> Ok, so this is my contribution to this year's Frostiron Big Bang. It kind of got away from mr and ended up being a lot more stressful than I though it would but hey, it's done now. And I have fantastic art done by the amazing Whichdocktor (who can be found here http://whichdockter.tumblr.com).

****  


Asgard.

 

Deep under the bowels of the palace of Asgard, in the brightly lit dungeons the guards made their rounds, peering in and checking on the inhabitants of each cell. As they walked passed the cell of the former second prince of Asgard the two men barely gave him a glance, the prince had not moved from his bed since a few days after he had first been put there. The only time the disgraced royal moved was when it was meal times or he had to go to the washroom. 

After a few months of shouting, leering, insulting, and every other thing they could do without attracting too much attention, the guards decided to leave the brooding man alone to his sitting. Even Thor had not been able to get anything out of him on the rare occasions that he decided to visit. 

There were many a rumour as to why the god did not move or speak. Some thought it was because of the way the cel was built, restricting his magic and thus restricting his very being, others claimed it was a spell placed upon the prince as part of his punishment. The most popular theory was that the prince had simply broken, after loosing his identity, his family and his sanity, the ex-prince’s mind could take it no more. That was not the last, nor the most far fetched theory by far, and yet with all the imagination of the realm, not one of them had come close to the truth. 

The truth was hiding behind the glamour of the inanimate prince, hiding in a bundle of blankets and hugged closely to the chest of its mother. The babe, only a few weeks old, had no knowledge of it’s whereabouts, only knowing that the person who was currently rocking gently back and forth in an attempt to calm him enough for sleep was the most important person in his world. 

Loki sang a quiet lullaby, cradling his child, his beautiful baby boy, wishing that it could stay this way. That he could keep his son and raise him as his own. But that would be a cruel fate for the child, a life in a cell was no life at all. 

The child’s father was an unknown. If Loki’s calculations were correct, he had been conceived shortly before Thor’s coronation (back when Loki had not know he was Jötunn and therefore had not know he was even able to conceive a child). 

It had been in the middle of the void, when he was falling through nothing and everything simultaneously that he had realised his pregnancy. At that time he had not known if he would survive and so the idea of him having a child was impossible. It was unfortunate for him then, that he stopped falling. 

When the Chitauri found him, Loki had known it was not going to be all fun and games. With his mind half gone and his strength pushed to his very limits, Loki managed a small protection and cloaking spell that kept his child safe and hidden. 

After the pain and torment, the godling was presented with an offer; the throne of Midgard in exchange for the Tesseract. It was a fools errand and a trap, the idea that Thanos would let him keep the land of the mortals and be their king was laughable. The plan that they had thought would lead to success over the mortals' planet was even more so. Using his skills in persuasion, Loki was able to convince the small minded aliens that, should he be put in charge of the planning and organisation the plan would be a success. 

For Loki, it was. He was able to escape the Chitauri while at the same time depleting their forces and ensuring that they would have a hard time finding and following him to exact their revenge. The most important for Loki, however had been to protect his child. 

Ever since Thanos had presented him with his offer, Loki could think of one thing and one thing only; this escape could offer him the freedom to run away and have his child, start afresh and build a new life with a new family. He would not have to be ashamed of who he was because it was his very biology that was allowing him to have this new start. He would not have to worry about being second best and living in anyone’s shadow, because to his child, he would be the only one.

This dream, this fantasy had been what had kept Loki going, kept him moving and fighting for his life instead of giving up as he had done on the Bi-frost. The only hitch in the plan as that he had not anticipated the Hulk to have ‘smashed’ him quite so thoroughly. With his protection spell still in place, the little one did not suffer from the unrelenting blows of being thrown around as a rag doll. However this resulted in Loki’s capture and his current state of being in the Asgardian dungeons, concealed in a glamour so as to hide the fact that he had given birth and was currently nursing his child. 

Ever the one to think ahead and be able to improvise, Loki had an airtight plan to ensure that his dream would not be taken from him. Still having some friends left in the realms, Loki had been able to use his dream walking skills to find his friend Elora on Alfhiem, arranging a time and place with her to take the babe and care for him until the time should come that Loki could do so himself. 

Asgardian cells may be strong, but Loki was stronger. His plan was to open a small portal, enough to fit his son through, doing so would drain him of near all of his energy. All would be well as on the other side of the portal, his elven friend would await the boy’s arrival and raise him in the safety of her home until Loki had regained enough strength to create his own portal and join them. 

It was simple, elegant and efficient; just the way Loki liked his plans to be. The timing was perfect, the guards having done their rounds would not return for another hour, giving Loki plenty of time to open his portal and let his son through. 

It was hard, even if he did have utter faith in his plan, for Loki to say goodbye to his baby. The child was so small and so innocent to the horrors he had committed. This baby was what brought him hope, gave him strength and helped him realise that yes, he did want to live and yes, he did want his own happiness.

Pressing his lips to the soft, warm forehead of his baby, Loki whispered the last words he would say to his child for a very long time.  
"I will see you again, I promise. I will think of you every day you are gone and I will miss you greatly, but we will find each other. Goodbye, minn sváss.”

With a small sleeping spell, the baby fell into a deep sleep that would allow him to travel through the portal with as little discomfort as possible. Now all he had to do was create the portal itself.

Taking one last look around, to ensure that there were no prying eyes to ruin this for him, Loki took down his glamour and began the spell for the portal. The mage closed his eyes, focusing all his attention to this one task, his low chanting was the only thing breaking the otherwise silent surroundings. 

Loki could feel it as the energy was drained from him and absorbed into the spell, the smell of magic and ozone combining and taking over his senses. The spell was almost complete all that was left was to lock onto the desired location and then he could send his baby through. 

Loki swallowed, he was nervous and scared. This was it, this was his last few seconds with his baby for the foreseeable future. He stared down at the small face, still awed by the fact that this tiny being was part of him. In fact, Loki was so caught up in staring at his baby that he did not notice Thor approaching his cell.

Of all the times, of all the people, Thor had to pick now to come and visit his brother. 

 

“GUARDS, THE PRISONER IS ESCAPING!” The thunder god bellowed. 

Loki suddenly broken from his trance was horrified, it wasn't done the spell wasn't finished, he couldn't do this, he couldn't send his baby through, not without a location set to send him to. The guards were running, his time was closing, they would soon find out the truth and Loki would never seen his son again. 

Facing a future without his baby was not one that Loki wanted, it truly was now or never and in his panic Loki made his decision. Now. 

With one last silent prayer to the Norns, Loki sent his child through the swirling cloud, shouting now in his desperation to complete the spell before the guards could stop him. The barriers were down, the guards now had his arms held tightly behind his back, cuffing them together and Thor approached with Loki’s worst nightmare. The metal gag was inching closer to his face as Loki thrashed, the spell work still incomplete, if the gag went on now his son would be lost in a gap between worlds. He would slowly suffocate, his little life being over before it started. Loki fought even harder, but it was of little use, he was subdued with ease, his strength having been drained by the spell work. The muzzle was fitted as the last words left his mouth and the portal closed. 

Tears streamed down Loki’s eyes as he realised that he would probably now never know if his son made it or not. After all, if you know a prisoner can escape from his current cell, you move them to a better cell, or you kill them. And Loki had a sinking feeling he knew which option lay in store of himself. 

 

Earth.

 

It had been a long couple of months for Tony after the invasion. First there was the nightmares and the panic attacks, then there were the problems of his crumbling relationship with Pepper and the final, and frankly inevitable breakup. 

He was coping though. Yeah, definitely coping.

With the renovations to his tower complete, Tony was now able to provide a place for each of his avenger friends to stay. The two master assassins would drop by in between missions, leading both Barton and Romanoff to take up permanent residence in the tower instead of SHIELD’s crappy facilities and safe houses. 

Steve decided that he, too needed somewhere permanent and secure to stay, resulting in his own moving into the Tower. Bruce was the easiest to persuade to stay. He had almost be living in the tower since the New York Incident, having already been halfway seduced by Tony’s brain, actually seeing the R&D floors and the equipment he had there was enough to seal the deal. 

While Tony was not exactly the best of friends with the other avengers, having little in common with them, he and Bruce really hit it off. And although his science buddy did not exactly approve of his drinking and his excessive hours, it was nice to have someone other than Jarvis around to bounce ideas off of and test theorems. 

Right now, Tony was doing his round, it being his turn to fly around the city and check that the tiny dots below were all behaving. Normally Tony didn't like being given orders and being told what to do, but for once, he didn't mind. Flying always had a calming effect on Tony, it allowed him some time to himself to just get some quiet, even from his own busy mind. 

 

To his complete and utter horror, a swirl started to form in the sky, right where the portal had been all those months ago, a greenish light growing brighter and brighter each second. Tony felt one of his panic attacks starting, adrenalin rushing through his veins as Jarvis tries to calm him down and prep the suit for battle. 

Flashes of the darkness he had witnessed in the vast emptiness of space rocked Tony to his core, bile climbed up his throat as he felt as though he was going to be sick. Images of buildings collapsed, red stains on the streets, and firemen still searching for bodies weeks after the carnage was over. There was no way Tony would be able to hold it together if he had to go through that again. 

The suit flew closer, the portal still being relatively small, Tony had hope that he could just send a missile through and have it over and done with as quickly and efficiently as possible. His throat began to clench, his mouth suddenly bone dry, he was less than ten meters away from the opening now, and the portal had seemed to have stopped growing, at least thats what he thought he heard Jarvis say. 

It happened so quickly that Tony almost missed it, a small lump of cloth came through, falling straight down and then in a flash, the portal was gone. Not a single trace left. All there was was that rolled up blanket currently plummeting through the air towards his tower roof top. 

Kicking into action, Tony made a dive for it, worried about what kind of alien voodoo mumbo-jumbo could be hidden in there and what sort of damage it might do to his newly refurbished penthouse. 

In a matter of seconds Tony had caught up with the bundle, in the nick of time too as it would have crashed through the roof if he had been but a moment later. Landing safely on his balcony, Tony walked towards the doors, keeping the possibly dangerous bundle at arms length and not taking off his suit. 

Once inside he placed the thing, swathed in a worn green cloth, on his couch and carefully pealed back the material to uncover what was hidden inside. 

Of all the things he could have expected, of all the things it would not be a good idea to give to Tony Stark, this was the worst possible outcome. The tiny pink face lay calm and unaware as the billionaire stared in awe. 

“Jarv, is it…?”  
“The infant is indeed alive sir, he seems to be sleeping from what my sensors can tell.” 

Now of course, the instant Jarvis says this the babe’s eyes fly wide open and stare in what seems like fear and curiosity at the metal man in front of him. Tony stared at the tiny thing and it stared back, both of them stuck with their eyes locked on one another. That was, until the baby threw its head back and let out and almighty howl. The small creature had healthy lungs that’s for sure, if it could scream like that, but as Tony looked closer, he saw that the baby’s face was changing colour. Not the usual red face you get when bawling your eyes out and screaming so loud you could deafen a man. No, instead the baby’s face began to turn blue, it’s eyes where the things turning red. 

Suddenly realising that the baby had not in fact been staring into his eyes but into the cold and intimidating faceplate of his suit, Tony quickly shed the entire thing and approach the tiny screaming creature. 

“Hey, hey, it's ok. I wont hurt you, well at least not on purpose…” the engineer approached the child, taking small steps, and using as soothing a voice as he could. 

Taking a little initiative, Tony reached out for the bundle, holding his hands out unthreateningly as he picked it up.

“Support the head, sir.” Jarvis intoned.  
“I knew that.” Tony sneered back adjusting the position so that the head now lay in the crook of his arm. The child fixed his gaze on the glowing light that came from the middle of Tony’s chest, it's wailing momentarily interrupted by the distraction. His tiny arms disentangling from the cloth and reaching towards it.

“Oh, you like my arc reactor, huh?” Tony cooed, receiving an excited giggle from the baby.

The billionaire smiled down at the tiny child, his mind reeling. Where did it come from? Who were it’s parents? Would they come to find him or was he abandoned? How did he change the colours of his skin and eyes with such ease? It was obvious that the child was not human, but for all intents and purposes, he appeared to be so. 

The baby looked up and saw him staring down at it, for some reason it made Tony blush liked he’d been caught out (even though Tony Stark never blushes). He shifted the infant in his arms, to instead hug the child against his chest. The little one had stopped crying now and was sniffling instead, though it’s features were melting back to a humanly pink colour. 

“That’s a pretty neat trick you got there kiddo.”

“Tony?” Having been so absorbed in the bundle he was holding, the man had not noticed the elevator opening, nor Pepper entering. Damn.

“This might look bad, but I swear its not mine…Ok wait no, that makes it sound worse.” He began to babble. The interruption made the babe uncomfortable as he wriggled in Tony’s arms, looking as though he was about to burst into tears again. 

“Hey, no no it's ok. Don’t cry, I've got you.” He rearranged the child so that he could tuck the head on his shoulder, making it easier to carry. The blanket he was wrapped in was not the softest of materials, it smelled stale and it itched at where it rubbed against his skin. That couldn't be good for a child, he would have to see about getting a better blanket. 

When he looked up at Pepper again, her expression had changed from one of confusion and a hint of anger to one of fondness and exasperation. Now would be the perfect time to tell her everything then, before the anger came back. 

As he explained the situation to her, he swayed gently, almost an unconscious movement to keep the babe in his arms quiet. In fact by the time he had finished the child in question had fallen asleep.

Pepper took a deep breath, giving the child a sorrowful look. “I can call Happy and have a drop off arranged at the nearest orphanage or adoption agency. We’ll need to make it an inconspicuous car because if this is somehow traced back to you we will never hear the end of it.” She was about to go on but the strange look on her friend’s face stopped her.

“I don't want to send it to an orphanage. What if it goes blue again? I doubt they’ll take very well to that.” He protested, his hold becoming a bit more firm as he angled his body away from her.

“I can contact the X-men? Professor Xavier has that school for mutants and I'm sure they can deal with something like this.” She suggested.

“It’s not a mutant Pepper. It’s an alien and besides, it’s a school not a nursery they don't take babies.”

"Well Tony there's nothing more we can do short of keeping it!" Pepper shouted, exasperated. Shouting was, apparently, not the best thing to do with a confused and scared baby around because the wailing began up again and the child struggled in Tony's arms as he cried out, his face gaining that strange blue tinge again. 

Tony shot Pepper a glare before turning his attention to the babe.  
"Shhh, I got you. You're ok, you're safe, I got you." He cooed, cuddling the bundle to his chest, showing his arc-reactor again. Silence reigned for a few minutes, with Tony staring at the child in his arms and Pepper staring at the pair in turn.

"That's what you want isn't it?" She smiled softly. "You want to keep it?"  
Tony looks up at her fleetingly before looking away again, if she didn't know better, Pepper would have said he looked nervous.  
"I don't have much of a choice, do I?" He replied, still not looking at her. The woman let out a heavy sigh, they both know that statement wasn't quite true. Tony stood not looking at her, he wasn't father material and they both knew it, she opened her mouth to say just that but Tony saw out of the corner of his eye and instinctively held the bundle closer to his chest. Giving up instead she whispered;

"No, I suppose you don't."

 

Asgard.

 

Loki was held down by the many uru chains fitted upon him after what the other Aesir had thought to be his escape attempt. Although they had every right to be paranoid, it did seem a little excessive and superfluous nevertheless. 

He had been brought to Thor’s rooms instead of the throne room as he had expected, and even more unusual was the reason for Thor’s visit.  
“It is soon to be what is called the Convergence, wherein the realms align and all manner of pathways are opened.” Thor began to speak, but none of it made any sense to the prisoner. What did this matter? He was caught trying to escape, surely they should be holding his trial now, or even going straight to the execution block. 

“There are whispers, around the realms of a looming threat to the peace. The dark elves are rising and they seek vengeance upon our realms, Father thinks it is a petty threat, not to be taken notice of. He is wrong.” Loki could have choked, Thor admitting that the great and powerful Odin was wrong, this was a day to remember. 

His boredom of the subject and general disdain for everything Thor was saying must have been apparent on his face, however, as the thunderer quickly got to the point.  
“You are the only one to know how to navigate the paths between realms, I need you to show me a way, help me stop them. My lady Jane has…absorbed the power of the aether, they will come for her and try to take it and use it to destroy everything.”

The thunder god looked as though what he was about to say physically pained him. “We need your knowledge of the passages between the realms.”

Thor stood, his chest puffed out as he held his breath, looking for all the world as though he expected some sort of response from the other god. Loki gave a pointed look at the muzzle that was currently attached preventing him from saying anything to agree or otherwise. Hesitant and frowning, Thor reached forwards, detaching the clasp but keeping the godforsaken thing handy in case it needed to be quickly replaced. 

“What could possibly incite me to help you?” Loki spat, his anger at his brother even more poignant because of the interruption he had caused in the trickster god’s earlier plans. 

“You will prove to me that there is still good in you, that the brother I once loved still exists and all is not lost.” Thor said, as thought any of that held any importance to Loki. The latter laughed in derision, his head tilted as he grinned spitefully at his once-brother.

“And what does that get me, hm? No, I want a change in my punishment. Ah ah-” the god began, stopping Thor before he could interrupt. “Exile. That is all I ask. Exile me to Alfhiem and I promise to help with whatever idiot plan you have.” 

Now, it was probably not the smartest to plead his desires out straight away, what he should have done was danced around the subject demanding the most extravagant and impossible from his help, bartering it down until Thor thought that he had come up with the idea himself, but right now Loki was tired. He was exhausted from his spell and from having to deal with his not-brother and the entire realm of Asgard itself.

“Why banishment? And why Alfhiem?” Thor asked, smart enough to know not to agree immediately to one of Loki’s requests.  
“I ask for banishment because Asgard is the reason for my anger, my pain and my loss. This despicable realm has taken everything I hold dear and warped and twisted it into my every hatred. I am to live out my days here in a cell of four walls where the light shines bright and consistently, I have nothing but the same three books I have read and re-read a thousand times over as entertainment and the one person I still hold dear, the one person who makes this desolate existence worth living at all has been banned from ever visiting, and yet you ask why I do not want to stay?” 

Thor admittedly looks a little ashamed at his words, thought he does think to protest, he is not allowed to as the younger god continues. 

“Alfhiem is simply the most logical choice. Jötunheim would want me dead, Muspelheim would kill me, Svartalfheim is a desolate realm, Asgard and Vanahiem both have a deep seated hatred of me and let us not dwell on Midgard shall we, I do not think I would be welcomed there for obvious reasons.” 

Thor gave the proposition a few minuets thought before nodding his head curtly. “Very well, brother. It shall be done.”  
“I want that in writing Thor.” Loki immediately demanded earning a spiteful look from the crown prince. 

 

Earth.

 

It had been a rocky first few weeks, what with Tony and Pepper suddenly equipping the tower for a newborn. At first Tony had been sat in front of a screen watching youtube video after youtube video so as to learn the logistics of how to change a diaper and how to make sure you have the correct amount of baby formula at the correct temperature. It had taken a few tries, but eventually he had managed to make it so that the baby, now known to be a boy, would not cry in discomfort every time Tony tried to feed him. 

Now baths were a completely different thing. 

The first time the baby had to have a bath Tony had bought a little baby tub because something that small would easily get lost in his 5 people or more sized bath tub. Once again, the genius had looked it all up online and gotten the best soaps and the softest washcloths. The water was warm and not overly hot, since the kid had a tendency to start to freeze things when it was upset, Tony figured that hot things were probably not going to be comfortable for it, even less so than it would be for a normal baby. 

The tub was half filled, with bubbles galore and as soon as the baby saw it he looked stunned. Tony had to sit down a minute because he was scared of dropping the baby if he continued laughing so. The way that his little face seemed to be stuck in awe at the sight of the bubbles was just too much. His little head whipped around to stare up at Tony as he began to chuckle audibly and the baby let out a squeal of excitement. 

When he had finally calmed down Tony took his little boy over to the tub and gently lowered him in, careful to keep an arm at his back to keep him sitting upright and supporting his little head. The squeals didn't stop as the baby splashed around, earning more laughs from Tony. When the billionaire picked up the flannel and dipped it in the water the baby looked up at him in wonder, making Tony's smile ever wider. 

The boy grabbed at the cloth, trying to control his movements properly and almost succeeding, unfortunately for him, at this age everything new is instinctually put in your mouth, and the washcloth was quickly taken away when the billionaire realised where it was headed. 

It didn't matter, the bubbles were enough of a distraction that there was no crying involved, although Tony wasn't quite quick enough to stop the handful of bubbles going in his mouth. In fact the only time they had come close to tears was when Tony took him out of the bath. 

Wrapping him into a warm, soft towel like a little burrito Tony picked the kid up and stood, wincing a little at the ache in his knees from having been crouched like that for so long he turned around and stopped dead.

"Is that a...?" Steve was the first one to break the silence, though he still couldn't gather enough concentration to actually finish his sentence as he stared at the burrito.

"I swear I didn't kidnap it." Was the first thing that came to mind. It immediately made him look guilty and was probably the worst thing to say to his stunned teammates who had all decided now would be a good time to assemble in his bathroom. 

"Well at least now we know why he hasn't come out of his penthouse for the last couple days." Bruce sighed. 

With his charming smile and excellent persuasive skills Tony managed to get them all to sit down in the living room rather than have the discussion here. Once he had them sat down he began to tell the story. The story of how a one-night stand had come over and dropped off the baby, it had passed the paternity tests but the mother had said she didn't want to keep it, instead she had settled for a chunk of cash and her anonymity. 

As he came to the end of his, thankfully uninterrupted story (one that he and Pepper had sorted out long ago when the baby first arrived to feed to the press) he looked up at his teammates faces and saw how they all were buying it, well Nat looked a little suspicious but she didn't seem to think he was outright lying. 

"Awww, fuck. I can't lie to you guys, that was bullshit, all of it. But hey, if you bought it then so will the press."  
He then launched into the real story, earning a few glares from his teammates, and understandably they were shocked. 

"It's alien?" Steve asked, looking warily at the child all of a sudden.  
"First, 'it' is a he. Second, yes he's alien but its a baby, what real harm can a baby do? Besides, if anyone else were to find out about this, the most likely place he would end up would be a science lab. If you are worried about the harm this child can do, imagine how resentful he would be toward the human race if he even survives being poked and prodded it's whole life." Tony argued.

He loved his team, he really did, they were like family to him. Tony had many trust issues that were only enhanced tenfold after the 'Obadiah thing'. With these people however, he knew he could relax, he didn't have to be constantly looking behind himself for someone with a knife. They were all misfits, weirdos, people who stuck out and didn't quite belong, and that is what made them so close. Because even though they were from different countries, cultures, beliefs, times and they had different moral compasses, they could all relate to one another in some shape or form. 

Right now, he wasn't 100% sure he could rely on them. Their silence was not comforting in the least and Tony's heart beat faster at the prospect of them disagreeing with him and wanting to hand the child over to someone else. 

Tony knew he was probably not the best parent material and that any adoption agency would laugh in his face before he could even start to try filling out any form.The thing was, Tony has a real soft spot for kids. They don't judge you and constantly compare you to others, they don't criticise your every move and attack you for who you are. Yeah, they have no sense of tact and are blatantly honest, even if it is rude, but that just means you know they aren't two-faced or trying to weasel something out of you. 

Tony had never thought of himself as the perfect father because he didn't dare think he could ever have any children. As much as he loved children from afar, there was a deep seated fear that his own childhood would repeat itself should he ever have a family. According to Steve, his own father had been a great friend, kind and caring, but the Howard Tony knew was neither of those things. This knowledge and the media's comparisons between himself and his father only cemented his fear of one day turning into the neglectful bitter old man Tony knew.

That fear was still ever present, but it was only a tiny nagging in the back of his mind now. Because when he looked down into the pudgy round face of this little baby he could feel a warmth in his heart, a need to protect and care for the helpless infant. The child who, if it weren't for him, would have died when he hit the roof of the tower after coming through that portal. And when the child looked back up at him, or reached for the apparently comforting light of his arc reactor, Tony only knew how much he would hate himself if he ever did anything to hurt him.

"You're really invested in protecting the boy already, aren't you?" Bruce smiled fondly.  
"A little bit." He nodded and smiled back.  
"So, what's the twerp called?" Clint asked, sighing in resignation as he realised that they were just going to have to deal because nothing would convince the other to give the child away.

 

Nat had immediately taken to the baby, cooing at it and playing all sorts of games in an attempt to make him giggle. Clint had looked on from afar with a haunted look in his eye, as though somehow the baby had done terrible, unspeakable things to him. 

Steve had been awkward at first, not to mention he watched Tony like a hawk. The team's captain had had to use his override codes to the lab so as to ensure the inventor did have enough food and sleep too many times to be able to trust Tony with raising a baby all by himself. Strangely enough, when it came to the health and well being of people other than the inventor himself, he was very good at it. Still, Steve thought it was better to be safe than sorry. 

Bruce was always very cautious around the baby, although he had the Other Guy under control most of the time, it would only take the smallest of pressures to indefinitely harm a child so small. To his utter surprise and that of the others, the infant seemed to really take to him, giggling loudly whenever Bruce held him and quietening down when he appeared frustrated. 

However the winner was, of course, Tony. Much to everyone’s surprise, the billionaire’s included, he had not managed to royal fuck things up yet. In fact, everything was going really smoothly, whenever it got a little too loud or wail-y all the man had to do was take the babe in his arms and bounce him gently while holding him up so that he could see the arc-reactor. The thing seemed to have a calming effect on the little one and no amount of scientific testing could point out why. 

Pepper, ever the one to think ahead, was already organising a press release, a conference and multiple interviews for Tv, radio and magazines for all of the team members so as to have the least amount of scandal as possible. 

Announcing to the world he had a baby meant that Tony was probably required to name the child as well. 

Tony had to think about this, in his family it was tradition for the male to inherit their father’s middle name, but Edward was not Tony’s favourite choice by far. Naming the kid after himself would be levels of narcism he was not sure even he could get away with. He wanted the names to mean something, something important. 

And that was how he came to be named James ‘Jamie’ Harold Stark. When the name was officially announced Rhodey cried and Happy gripped Tony in the biggest of bear hugs, enough to rival even Thor’s. 

 

Everything was going perfectly, even better than Tony had imagined, until the night that little Jamie refused to stop crying. 

 

It was closing in on 3am and even if the engineer’s sleep pattern was far from normal he was exhausted and needed some rest of his own. None of the others efforts proved to help and Tony was forced to send them off to bed when Jamie started to go blue around the edges and his cries got too much for the rest of the team.

It had been five hours now and there was not an inch of him still pink. Jamie’s emerald eyes glistened with tears and his mouth was open in a constant cry. Pacifiers did nothing to stop him, instead he just spat them out and continued crying. Tony had tried feeding him, changing his diaper, cradling him, singing to him. He had gotten so worried he had Jarvis do all sorts of scans to make sure than nothing was medically wrong with him. But no, nothing was wrong. Not even the arc-reactor could calm him down. 

Tony was at the end of his wits, and it became even stranger when the crib Jamie lay in began to grow a layer of thin frost. Tony reached for the boy only to pull his hand bad at the searing cold he had felt when touching the baby’s skin.

Throwing his hands up in exasperation Tony did what came to him instinctually, he went over to the bar and poured himself a drink. The burn set fire to the back of his throat and sent its warming comfort all the way down to his stomach. For a moment, Stark lost himself. He poured another and another, trying to drown out the sounds of the infant crying not ten metres away. 

There was a voice in the back of his head, a tiny voice that was trying to call to his attention, trying to tell him something. It sounded like it was saying he was being irresponsible and he should be trying to take care of the child rather than drown his sorrows. Tony didn't like the sound of that voice so he pushed it down, ignoring it. 

What he much preferred to do was pour himself another drink, only then he heard a loud crack. Looking over to where the sound had come from he saw that the wooden crib he had lain the baby in was now covered in a layer of thickening ice, ice that was causing the wood of the cot to crack and become unstable and a danger to the infant who lay in it. 

"What is it you want?" Tony shouted, making his way over with a glass of scotch still in hand. 

Realising what he had just done Tony stood frozen in his tracks.

The image of Howard standing over him, drink in hand as he shouted abuse at his son made Tony stop dead. Not even the burn of alcohol could warm the ice cold he felt inside...

He was becoming Howard. The horror that swept through Tony in that moment, as he realised the path he was headed towards, was one of the worst feelings he would ever have in his life. 

What made it even worse was the fact that the crying had stopped and the infant lay still as though paralysed in fear of what Tony would do. 

Dropping the glass, not caring if it shattered on the floor, Tony made the last few steps to the crib, reaching in with slightly trembling hands to pick up his son. The cold that burnt his hands didn't matter, it was insignificant compared to the need Tony felt, the need to apologise to Jamie, and the need to change before he became what he hated most. 

Making his way to the bedroom, where there were more less-frozen blankets and an extra crib, Tony hugged Jamie to himself as he whispered assurances to his baby boy.

"It's ok, I'm here, daddy's here. I'm sorry, so sorry. I won't ever do that again I promise. I don't want to be like Howard, never like Howard. I'm sorry, I love you..." 

That was when yet another epiphany hit him, Tony really did love this child, in fact that was the first time he had called himself daddy as well. This was going to be a proper commitment, not the kind of project he could pick up, tinker with for a while and then put it back on the shelf for three months. What's more, Tony was actually excited to realise this. 

"I promise, from now on I'm gonna take care of you, I'll always be here, no matter what. And to prove it to you, starting tomorrow I'm getting rid of the alcohol in the tower. No more drinking." 

Jamie was calmed by the soft sound of Tony's voice, the unknown reason for his crying had seemed to have been forgotten. Instead his eyes began to droop as exhaustion washed over him, crying for hours on end tended to tire people out.

Tony had kept his promise, the next morning he had either gifted the bottles to friends (it was some expensive stuff, not the kind you just throw out) or sold it off. The penthouse was now an alcohol free area. 

It was hard for the billionaire to cope, he had Jarvis on alert at all times to ensure that there were no health threatening side effects, for him or Jamie. When the team learnt of his decision they were all immensely supportive, encouraging him to go out and get exercise to take his mind off off the drink and get his body to the peak of health. 

He often struggled with mood swings or getting caught in the familiar action of reach for a glass or going to pour a bottle of something or other, at times when he got low he considered just slipping out, just for a minute, one glass wouldn't hurt anyone right?

It was at these moments that he reminded himself why he was doing this, the real reason for his battle to sobriety. Seeing Jamie smile or giggle when he came into a room was enough to silence the treacherous thoughts. 

Deciding that he would take the teams advice and finally listen to Pepper's constant nagging of 'go outside Tony', 'get some fresh air', 'you're going to get scurvy if you don't go out more'. He had to delay a few days before going out though, just enough time to search through the different types of strollers there and get one delivered. 

The press had been alerted to Jamie's existence through a press conference meaning that no one overly confused should they realise that man with a stroller was Tony Stark. Every few days Tony would take out the clumpy contraption, strapping his bouncing baby in and having Jarvis plot a route for them to walk. 

Jamie loved the walks, he got all excited whenever the stroller was brought out, wriggling about in his excitement. Tony had then learnt early on to put on his little coat and baby boots before he got the stroller out because once Jamie started wriggling it was nigh-on-impossible to get him to stay still enough to put his clothes on. 

However there were some nasty unprecedented side effects of Tony going out into the park with Jamie more often. With more an more sightings of the two of them together, more and more speculations came up, who's the baby's was, if it was a real baby or a robot experiment. And then the claims came in. 

Women who claimed to be the baby's mother, they were a one-night-stand who got pregnant and were paid of for their silence. Those articles pissed Tony off the most, not only because it implied that he would take a child away from his mother, but also that he would refuse that mother a chance to see her child. Not to mention it was all a load of bullshit for their fifteen minutes of fame. 

If Tony was in charge, he would put on the Iron-Man suit and pay them each a visit to tell them exactly what he thought of them. Luckily for him and his PR department, Pepper could still put him in his place with just a look. She had the good sense to address the rumours in a press conference wherein she denounced the claims as fake and informed the public that each woman who had made any kind of wild accusation against Mr Stark or his son, and any future pretenders, would be facing rather unpleasant lawsuits. 

That was quite enough to stave off any rumours for a while. 

Asgard

 

With Loki's help, Thor was able to ready Asgard for war, when the dark elves came they were prepared. With the use of his magic and a few relics for extra endurance, Loki was able to form a protective bubble around the castle where the children, elderly and ill where hidden away for their own safety.

That battle was fierce and bloody, with both sides fighting for everything they had but for once, Thor was not the one to defeat. In this battle, the one who fought hardest, who killed quickest, who moved fastest was Loki. 

Many were surprised by the younger prince's determination, in previous battles he had fought well but he had always been by Thor's side, following the motions of their little clique. This time however it was clear he was not going to be fighting alongside his once-brother, instead he flashed here and there as he teleported to where he needed to be. His foes falling like flies behind him. 

There were times when he was injured by particularly stubborn warriors who refused to go down easily, many times there was wonder as to wether the trickster god would be able to get back up after he had received what could have been fatal blows. But his determination to survive won out every time. Loki would seek shelter for a few short minutes, to catch his breath and gouge the depth of the wound before he was up fighting more ferociously than before. 

As he looked over the battle field he spotted a ship heading towards the palace, even with all his work that shield could only take so much and as it neared the end of the battle it was at its' weakest. 

Using the last of his strength, Loki teleported onto it, throwing a knife at anything that moved. He moved quickly through the darken corridors of the ship, one leg dragging behind and drops of red leaving a trail behind him as he searched for the engine room. The ship itself had taken a rather large beating from the battle and was already in bad shape so it wouldn't take much for him to incapacitate it. 

Not five minutes later the engines were a melted ruin and the ship was spiralling down, plummeting to the ground below. Loki had no strength left, he could simply hold on and hope not to be crushed in the crash. The ship shuddered and jolted as it collided with the ground, one of the sides was ripped clean off letting the light of day pour in rendering the darkened rooms of the ship seem less daunting. 

As he stumbled out of the crushed metal wreck Loki took a breath and searched the horizon around him. From what he could see the battle was nearing its end, if it was not there already. 

Feeling something tickle the back of this throat Loki hunched over, letting a mouthful of blood slip out as he coughed. From what he could tell his ankle was broken and a few of his ribs had cracked, from the blood he felt down his back it was obvious his head was more injured that he would have liked to admit and the throbbing of his shoulder meant it was probably shattered as well. From the look of it one of his lungs were pierced as he felt his breath leave him in favour of hacking up more blood. 

"Brother!" The cry came from close by. Loki lifted his head to see that Thor was indeed calling to him, the blond warrior was banged up and bloody but not quite to the same extent as Loki was himself. 

Loki braced himself for the blow as he knew Thor could sometimes forget his strength, not that anyone else did. The arm that came around his back felt agonising as Thor clasped his broken shoulder and squeezed him to his body. 

"We have won, brother. And the people, they think you a hero!" He beamed but Loki could not hear the words. The pain shooting through his body was too much for him to bear, not with him weakens and exhausted as he was. He could do nothing to stop it as the black took over his vision and his limbs grew so weak he could no longer stand. 

Thor found himself suddenly weighed down with the weight of his brother who was for all intents and purposes dead to this world.

~~

Loki woke some days later, his injuries were for the most part healed though there were scars and pains that still lingered. As he sat up groggily, surveilling his surroundings the ex-prince was surprised to find himself in the section of the healing ward that was reserved for the royal family only. 

He did not have time to think for too long as both his once brother and his mother jumped up from his bedside, adjusting his pillows and helping him sit. His mother brought him a glass of water and helped him to sip it slowly as she gushed about how happy she was that he was alright. 

The kindness he was shown was unnerving considering he had elicited nothing but cold stares and one word sentences. It was what he had received for the last few weeks after all. 

"You fought well in the battle, many took notice. Odin has decided, upon the wishes of the people, that your punishment should be lifted and your place as prince reinstated. You can be a part of the family again...brother-"

Loki couldn't believe what he was hearing; the people, the people who hated him and thought him to be a trickster, a liar and a menace, those same people who had spurned him and treated him lesser all his life now wanted him as a prince again...it made no sense. 

"You do not need to go to Alfheim anymore-" Thor looked so happy, like he had just been gifted everything he had ever wanted but all Loki could hear was how he would be once again cheated of what he was promised. 

"NO!" He shouted, though what with his throat being soar and unused it came out as more of a screech. Loki's heart was beating fast in his chest, the panic began to overtake him as he thought of being forced to stay in Asgard and make happy while his son was left to grow up alone on Alfheim. 

Throwing the covers off of himself Loki stood and backed away from the others, his mind raced as he looked for an out, his ankle twinging from where the break had only healed very delicately. 

"You promised, you promised me I could go-" he screamed the anger building up from having being lied to once more. 

Thor and Frigga had both stood from where they sat when Loki had, they were both stunned to silence by the prince's sudden reaction. Frigga moved forwards, her arms out passively as she approached her son. He looked as frightened as a caged animal and he was panicked enough to do himself damage from his recent injuries. 

"Why do you want to go?" Thor asked, confused and hurt that his loved brother did not want to stay. From his point of view this was the perfect opportunity to start over, to go back to how things were before, for them to be a happy family once more. 

He knew that it would never be perfect, that their past would not be totally forgotten and betrayals will still linger in the backs of their minds but at least some semblance of calm and happiness can be returned to their family. 

"You swore to me, you swore I could go. Don't go back on your word, Odinson, or it will be the last thing you do!" Loki had the anger and the know-how but he knew he could never see that threat through, and not only because it would mean he would never make it to Alfheim. Luckily for him Loki was a very good actor and he knew how to make sure he was taken seriously. 

From the way Thor's smile dropped suddenly as he took a step back and the way Frigga's face blanched he knew he was convincing enough. 

"You wouldn't." Thor whispered, though he didn't look too sure about it. 

~~

Loki stood on the Bifrost, he was breathing deeply trying to hide his anticipation. In a few short minutes he would be reunited with his son. His little baby boy. In his minds eye he could see him, still wrapped in that awful blanket, his peaceful face as he slept. 

Thor and Frigga stood close-by, waiting to see him off. Frigga watched with tears in her own eyes as Loki picked up his case and took those few steps forward towards the swirling rainbow vortex that would take him away for her for what would most likely be the last time. 

Thor had no tears, he did not understand this goodbye, he couldn't really think of it as a goodbye because in his mind what Loki was doing was senseless. Although he knew that Alfhiem was a beautiful realm, full of forests of rare and magnificent flora and fauna, it was not a realm that presented any kind of interest to him. And besides, with the Dark Elves defeated and Loki's punishment over, why would his brother want to leave?

His family was in Asgard, his home, his friends, his possessions... Thor had been amazed at the size of Loki's bags. He had been allowed entry to his old rooms in the palace and nothing had been touched since his fall from the Bifrost, he had been free to take anything he wanted with him and yet from what Thor could tell he had taken little more than a few clothes, his favourite daggers, one or two books, his money and some other valuables.

That was hardly what one would pack for moving away and living their life elsewhere so this could not be a final goodbye. 

Loki took one last deep breath and turned to look at what was left of his once-family. Although he loved his brother they had not seen eye-to-eye for a long time now, he had let bitterness, jealousy and hate corrode their relationship. Frigga he was going to miss, there was no question about that. Even though she had been in on the lies the whole time she had still loved him, still treated him just as equally as she did Thor. No one's parenting is perfect but she was as close as it gets, despite having no blood relation to he whatsoever she was and aways would be his mother. 

Tilting back on his heels he felt the familiar pull, letting himself fall backwards through the Bifrost. The colours swirled around him and the air seemed to crush him under it's weight but not a second later his feet touched solid ground once again. 

Loki opened his eyes and there in front of him stood the awe-inspiring work of the elves' houses. Ever to be in sync with nature a few elves had decided that they did not want to chop trees to build their houses but instead they chose magic to help the trees grow into their desired shape, bringing a whole new meaning to the word treehouse. 

The Aesir rarely visited Alfheim unless it was for trade as the Light Elves were a people who valued knowledge, nature and peace above all else. Their warriors were as fearsome as any realms' in strength and talent but seeing as they were a peaceful people they did not feel the need to prove that strength in feats of prowess and pride as the Aesir did. 

That was another reason Loki loved Alheim so much, he was not mocked for his stature and bookishness, instead he was accepted and revered for his knowledge and cunning. His talent for magic was not considered to be effeminate but normal. Loki had always felt contented when on Alfheim, a calm state washed over him and gave him the impression that all was right with the world and he had nothing to fear. 

The door in front of him opened and Loki smiled, a true smile that light up his face as his eyes crinkled in delight. Elora had been a good friend of his for as long as he could remember, she had a gentleness to her that reminded Loki of his mother and was also what made him think of her first when he was seeking out a guardian for his baby boy.

Elora did not return his smile, however and a worried lines creased her forehead as she swiftly ran to his side. Loki felt his heart beat faster and faster as dread pooled in his stomach once again. 

"Loki, I'm sorry, I'm so so sorry. He never came." she trembled.

Loki's heart stopped, his knees gave out and distantly he was aware of arms wrapping around him, hugging him close to Elora's bosom as he collapsed to the floor. His fingers shook but otherwise he felt petrified. 

He was lost.

His baby had disappeared into the void along with the rest of Loki's hopes and dreams. 

He was gone.

Earth

2 years later...

Jamie was growing up at a faster rate than normal human babies, he was already walking and talking, he could dress and bathe himself and he could make himself breakfast by himself, with adult supervision of the sharp or heating instruments. He was also quick to learn how to read and soon enough "Daddy read me a story" became "Daddy can I read you a story?" 

Now even if Tony was not the most responsible person in the world and he himself had hated it when he was thrown out of his father's labs, it was just that Jamie's face lit up so brightly when they made things go 'boom'. 

They often had fun 'improving' Jamie's toys in that he would tell Daddy what he wanted and then Daddy would help him do it.

Jamie had one of the biggest and most caring families on the planet, he even called Fury Uncle Nick and though the super spy pretended to be annoyed he was preening on the inside. One thing Jamie knew he could depend on was that his family would always be there for him, no matter what, and that had been important to him when he started to notice how different he was. 

For example, when he noticed that none of his family could regularly turn blue and have ice start to grow form their hands. In fact no one he knew of could do that. When he asked his father about it Tony looked a little stumped. 

"Jarvis, do we have Lilo and Stitch?" he asked, because when you live in a tower of deadly assassins, gods, super soldiers and geniuses you have more disney movie marathons than you could expect.

"Indeed we do, sir. Shall I set it up on the theatre floor or would you rather have it in the penthouse?" Came the smooth reply. 

"Theatre floor please, J. Get the popcorn going and tell the others its on. Don't worry kiddo, I'll answer any questions you have, I just want you to watch this film with me first, kay?" He said, scooping Jamie up into his arms and taking them to the elevator. 

By the time they go to the theatre room the others here waiting, all though they had stopped off to pick up the buckets of popcorn and to gather a few drinks first. Choosing their usual favourite spot, Tony and Jamie settled down, with the popcorn on Tony's lap and Jamie leaning against his father's side. There where no arrests between them as Tony preferred to have loveseats for more comfort.

Once the film was over Tony took Jamie to his room and they sat down on the bed. 

"The reason I wanted you to watch that film is because it bears quite a lot of resemblance to our little family. You see, there was a portal that opened above the tower two years ago and that is where you came from. I found you, well more like caught you mid-air, and then I took you in. I don't know who your real parents are or where you really come from. But I want you to remember one thing, I chose you, I chose to keep you and raise you as my son because I wanted you. I love you and you will always be my son." 

As Tony sat and explained he watched his son's face closely. He had dreaded the idea that once Jamie knew he was adopted he would want to find his other family, that he wouldn't want to stay with him and the Avengers anymore. His worry had increased tenfold as he rubbed reassuring circles on Jamie's shoulders. 

The boy in question had already guessed that he had been adopted considering the film he had just watched. One of the first thoughts that came to the boy's head was a deep sadness, because somewhere out there his real parents where without him, they had probably wanted it that way considering they had thrown him through a portal. 

The hand on his shoulder was comforting, it was grounding as the thoughts in his head took to the winds and jumbled and whooshed past at incredible speeds. Then suddenly it wasn't there. A terrible fear of being abandoned again (even though he had never truly felt the harsh kick of abandonment in the first place) overtook him as he jumped out of his reverie and turned to stare at where his father was going. 

Tony got up and went to the closet, stretching to reach the top shelf. The silence from Jamie had unnerved him and he had felt the urge to do something so he had gone to fetch the cloth that Jamie had been wrapped in when he first came through the portal. 

"This...uh, this is what you were wrapped in when I found you. It's pretty scruffy and not the best material but I'd didn't want to throw it away in case you wanted it. Or something." He helpfully supplied. Jamie reached out and took the blanket from his dad, rubbing it through his fingers to just get a feel. 

The longer the time stretched out as Jamie sat there silently, the more Tony worried he had majorly messed up. Should he have told him sooner? Should he have kept it a secret and lied to him? 

Finally, Jamie spoke:  
"Ohana means family, family means nobody gets left behind or forgotten. My real parents left me behind, so they aren't my real parents. You are." Jamie looked close to tears whereas Tony had them already streaming down his face. He cuddled Jamie close and never wanted to let go. How anyone could ever leave this kid behind baffled him.

 

~~

 

A few months later, after Jamie's third birthday, Thor came to the tower and ordered a team meeting. For the last three years the thunder god had been flitting between Asgard and Earth, never staying in one place too long. 

Most of the time he spent on earth was with his girlfriend, Jane, it was obvious to the others how much he cared for her every time her name was mentioned. The only down-side to their relationship was the fact that the Allfather disapproved, meaning that marriage and golden apples was out of the question. 

It was for this reason that Thor spent so much time with her, he did not want what precious moments they could have go to waste. Of course he popped over for the occasional visit and helped out during any battles that came up when he could. So for him to have come to the tower and called a meeting was very strange and put people a little on edge. 

Tony had diplomatically decided that perhaps the subject at hand would not be for young ears and so he had left Jamie watching telly in the next room over. They all sat down, each member of the team tense and staring at Thor in anticipation of what he would say. 

The thunderer did not seem to pick up on his teammates moods, however as he seemed a little caught up in a world of his own. 

"My friends, I have come bearing great news," he beamed, still not quite having got the hang of the 'indoor voice' thing. "The Avengers and family are being invited to Asgard for the Royal Wedding of Prince Thor and Lady Jane Foster." He stated as though reading from cards. 

"Thor that's fantastic!" Steve congratulated.  
"I thought you said your father would never allow it." Natasha remarked, even when she was off duty she couldn't help but try to get the most information out of everyone and anyone.  
"We have struck a deal," Thor replied, his god mood and bright smile somewhat dampened. "I will accept my role and become the King of Asgard and in turn I can take the bride of my choosing to be my Queen." Thor took a moment to look around the room at everyone before continuing. "It hurts me to say this my friends, but as King I will have more duties and responsibilities to attend in Asgard and my visits here will become even less frequent." 

The Avengers were taken aback but that, they understood of course why Thor would not be able to visit often, though none had had experience as a king it would feel pretty obvious to all why he would not be able to come and go as he pleases. This information, though saddening, did not stop them from being happy over their friend's upcoming wedding, and a trip to Asgard for the first time made it even more exciting.

They were all quick to go pack their bags, taking their finest clothes (they would be among royalty) and their most trusted weapons. Tony had also offered everyone a free shopping trip to their favourite designers for their wedding attire. As representatives of earth they could be seen in nothing but the best of the best of what earth could offer. In the end, Bruce was in a white suit with a purple shirt, Clint had much the same but with a black suit instead. Steve and Natasha went for simple but elegant styles and Tony and Jamie had gone for the matching Armani suits. They all looked very suave.

When it came to travelling via the Bifrost Jamie could hardly stand still, he was jumping up and down all over the place, even when Tony scooped him up into his arms the boy couldn't stop squirming with how excited he was. 

As the colours danced around their eyes the Avengers felt and immense pressure trying to compress them uncomfortably, luckily it was over before they knew it and they stood in awe of the spinning golden globe around them.

Heimdall stood at the centre, pulling his great sword out as he greeted and nodded at each guest in turn. 

"Welcome Avengers, my King, little prince."

Jamie smiled and preened at the title and Tony grinned, deciding right away that he liked this guy. 

That evening there was to be a big celebration feast, all the guest from would have arrived and it would be a way to meet and greet the powerful people that the future King and Queen would most likely have to deal with in the near future. It was supposed to help build good relationships between them, or so the Allfather had said. 

As tradition went, there would be ambassadors from each realm present at the royal wedding, and it would be a challenge to make sure that there were no fights breaking out. As Thor explained this on the walk from the Bifrost to the palace Jamie stopped.

A day or so after the truth of his adoption had come out, Thor admitted to owning which species Jamie had come from. The Jötunns, he had said. They were a race that had often found itself in discord with the Asgardians and as such they were not exactly considered friendly. Despite his upbringing having clouded his judgment of the Jötunn Thor knew that their ways had to change, his eyes were opened when he learnt of Jamie's true nature and saw the little blue baby for what he was, an innocent infant as opposed to the raging beast he had been lead to believe all Jötunn were. 

As such, for the past three years Thor had tried to introduce an new way of thinking, he had opened up small trade routes that had once been used long ago and had been working on peace talks with the new Jötunn King. 

The idea that Jamie could meat someone of his own kind had him both paralysed with fear and so giddy he could burst.  
"Uncle Thor, can... Can I meet the ambassador from yo-ten-him?" He asked timidly.

"I don't see why not," the god beamed encouragingly. "Though you might want to get the pronunciation right, it's Jötunheim."

 

Tony is nervous about meeting with the ambassador but Thor assures him that he has made many a deal with him in the past and he is a kind and reasonable man. The meet, which has been discussed and orchestrated by Thor, will happen shortly before dinner, giving Tony and Jamie enough time to meet the parents, find their rooms and have a little explore in the meantime.

 

From the way Thor said it, it sounds as though he is as anxious about the avengers meeting his parents as a teenager introducing their first boyfriend/girlfriend to their parents. Odin has been described to them in a great many ways over the years but one of the things that stands out most about him is that he is very opinionated and his first impression will stick for life, so they had all better make it a good one.

 

For Steve it was no problem, he was like the perfect Asgardian warrior, and a fine gentleman as well, Bruce got the ok for despite his own nervousness he commented on the amazing architecture. The assassins were not so surprisingly all delightful charm, even though the avengers knew to see through it, their’ training made it so that they were the perfect examples of polite diplomacy.

 

The last two to be introduced were Tony and Jamie, the boy made a decent first impression with his wide-eyed awe and his half whisper of “You’re really pretty” to the Queen. Tony on the other hand was muttering calculations and trying to figure out how they could have travelled so far so fast when Bruce patted his shoulder. The King looked put out at having been ignored but the Queen gave a wistful smile, reminded of the times when Loki had done much the same.

Once he realised his faux-pas, Tony immediately turned on the Stark Charm to try to rectify his mistake. It seemed to have appeased them for the moment so Tony decided to drag Bruce into his science-y ramblings. 

The Avengers were then introduced to a few of Thor's other friends known as the Warriors Three and the Lady Sif. They were polite and cordial, but in the same manner a waitress would be should she be hoping for a nice tip. Then the team was shuffled along the corridor and shown to their rooms. 

They were very fine and grandiose, exactly how you would expect Royal Palaces to be, with massive ceiling to floor windows with golden curtains. Four poster beds with the softest furs and the best quality silks in all the realms. The adjoining bathrooms were equally as lavish. 

However, the crowning jewell, at least in Jamie's opinion, was the gardens. From his window he could see the lush green grass, with islands of the most beautiful and colourful flowers he had ever seen, there were some he had seen in bouquets on Aunt Pepper's desk but some where utterly foreign to him. There were some that had spiked petals, others were softly rounded, there were even flowers that glowed like red hot metals he had seen in his father's workshop. Here and there were benches, so that people taking a walk could see down and just soak up the beauty, he could even see a small gazebo in one of the further corners. Dotted around and sometimes in the middle of the flowerbeds were fountains and birdbaths that had ornate designs curling and swirling around the bases. Off to the left there were tall bushes and small gaps between in what could only be a giant maze. It was Paradise. 

Tony and Jamie decided to take a tour of the gardens as they waited for the time of the meeting to come. Jamie was running around the maze, turning around corner after corner nearly loosing Tony in his run. 

“Daddy, come on! You’re so slow!” Jamie teased as he skipped through the maze, before he came to a fork and took too long deciding his path. Tony was sneaking up behind him and threw him over his shoulder before Jamie could choose right or left. Making the decision for him, Tony chose left and began marching along with the giggling toddler dangling behind him. 

“If we get lost in this never-ending maze I’m blaming it on you.”  
“If I die first you can eat me.” Jamie replied in what sounded like a scarily serious tone. “But only if I die first, no killing me. Promise?” 

Tony pulled him round so he was held against the genius’s hip, he stuck out his pinky and hooked it against Jamie’s tiny outstretched one. “I Promise.”

Being upright once more Jamie stretched his neck to see where they were in the maze. “Look! That way, Daddy, that way!” Jamie squealed pointing in the direction where you could see what looked like the edge of a large fountain. 

“Great, we found the middle, but how are we supposed to get out afterwards. Hmm?” Tony mused out loud as he walked towards the fountain. 

“I can help with that, I believe.” Came a deep voice to the left.  
Instinctually tony turned so that Jamie was angled away from the other and he checked his wrists for the suit bracelets. 

The man had deep blue skin and gleaming red eyes, similar to that Jamie had when in his other form; he was sat at a bench on the edge of the round clearing at the centre of the maze. 

“My name is Thrym, I believe we were meant to meet a little later.” He said standing; the man was in all sense a giant. He towered at least six feet above Tony, and yes, he knows he’s not the tallest man alive but he knows tall when he sees it. 

“And I believe you are the little lost giant.” He said, giving Jamie a curious look.  
“He-” Jamie coughed. “Hello.” He struggled out, his nervousness showing. 

~~

“Ah, Mother, you wouldn’t have seen the Man of Iron and his son anywhere, would you?” Thor asked as he passed Frigga in the hall. 

“Yes, I believe I saw the wandering into the maze” She smiled as Thor gave an exasperated sigh. The maze in the palace gardens was particular in that it was semi-sentient and could change at any moment. Some were lost in it for days but it held a certain fondness for the Queen. 

“Worry not, I’ll find them.” She assured her elder son. She had wanted to get to know the Man of Iron better anyway as he bore a considerable resemblance to her younger son. How she missed Loki, Frigga had wanted to convince him to return, even though she thought it was highly improbable. She had sent letter after letter with no reply, excepting one letter from Elora telling her that Loki had sunken into a depression and would not even look at the letters. 

~~

Tony watched as Thrym helped Jamie learn a little more about himself. He had learnt at a young age to switch between his to skins at will, but the ice, the ice only ever appeared when he was angry or upset. By now they were perched on the edge of the fountain as Thrym was showing him how to create little patterns in the frost. 

Every now and then he would give Jamie curious looks, staring down his arms or looking down the back of his collar, like he was looking for something on Jamie’s skin. It seemed he wasn’t the only one to notice the strange looks. 

“Is something wrong?” Jamie asked, tilting his head slightly and peering up at the taller giant.  
“Not wrong, exactly. You see these lines on your skin,” he traced one of the raised lines on Jamie’s arm. “They are heritage marks. Can I?” he asked motioning Jamie’s shirt.

Even though Jamie knew his biological parents had thrown him out he was still curious as to who they were. He quickly scrambled out of his shirt and waited for more information from the elder Frost Giant. Tony was also intrigued and stepped closer so that he might better hear what was to be said. 

“This line here,” Thrym said, running a finger from his shoulder, curling down his arm. “Shows that you are descended from powerful mages, seiðr is in your blood little one.”  
“Cool.” Jamie grinned, making both the adults give out a little chuckle.  
“This, this is what I find most interesting.” Thrym muttered as though lost in thought. He was staring at Jamie’s back, his fingers hovering over the skin and following the lines without touching.  
“These are the marks of the royal family, you are a descendant of Laufey’s.” he mumbled, his brow still creased in thought.  
“Is there something wrong with that?” Tony asked, taking a defensive tone and ready to run. From the expression on Thrym’s face it looked as though something was wrong and he wasn’t about to risk his child for the sake of a potential family grudge.  
“Býleistr is too young to have children and any child of Helblindi would be heir to the throne and public knowledge. As far as I know Helblindi has no children, the only explanation is-” 

“Loki.” Frigga breathed, interrupting Thrym’s train of thought and bringing everyone’s attention to the newest arrival. 

“That would explain his size and the fact that he is a half-breed.” Thrym agreed once he had come out of his shock.  
“But why would he send Jamie to earth?” Tony asked, feeling a little strange knowing his former enemy was the father of his child.  
“When he was in prison Thor interrupted him while he was creating a portal, the spell must have been incomplete and so it opened to the easiest path. With the portal that had recently been opened on earth it was the simplest destination for the spell to latch on to.” Frigga explained, her own mind reeling as she realised what had happened, all the different puzzle pieces were coming together.  
“Where was he trying to send me?” Jamie piped up.  
“I believe your mother was trying to send you to a friend of his on Alfhiem, the realm of the Light Elves. After he was pardoned he refused anything else but self-banishment to Alfhiem.”  
“So he didn’t not want me?” Jamie asked, his voice trembling at the idea that he might not have been abandoned quite as he had previously thought.  
“No my child, I do believe he wanted you very much.” She said, picking him up and hugging him close as her eye began to tear up. “I have a grandson.” She whispered in amazement. 

 

Alfhiem

 

A week later…

Elora was in her front garden harvesting some of the fruits from her tree and tending to the flowers, she had Loki around the back of the house working on turning over the soil ready to sow new seeds for the coming months. 

Since his arrival and his realisation that his child was not here Loki had sunk into a deep depression. At first he had not moved from his bed, he would neither eat nor sleep. When the letters from Frigga came Elora tried everything she could to get Loki up to read them. It was no use however. From then on she had tried and tried to get him out of bed, showing him all the comfort and support she could. 

It had taken long enough but she had managed to get him moving about and following a daily routine to help keep up his strength and health. Next she had introduced meditating and gardening to try to give him peace of mind. He had gotten better with each passing day, yet he was still far from his usual happy, cheeky self. To be perfectly honest she severely doubted that he could ever reach that point in his life again. 

Just as she was about to start back inside and begin preparing a midday meal a flash of multicoloured light that could be mistaken for nothing but the Bifrost appeared not twenty feet away. 

When the light cleared a rather confused looking man with neat facial hair and two briefcases, one red and gold the other black leather, stood looking at his surroundings before spotting her and and calling out. 

“You wouldn’t happen to be Elora, would you?”  
She turned her head to one side and looked at him curiously. “Yes,” she replied cautiously.  
“Great,” he beamed making his way over with confident steps. “I’m Tony, Tony Stark, and I was told you know where Loki is.”  
“Yes. Do come in.” she replied, turning to lead him into her house. She was curious as to what a mortal could be doing here, especially one sent from Asgard, and what he could possibly want to do with Loki. 

The man in question had come inside already and was in the process of making tea when he saw the mortal and promptly dropped the cup of boiling water all over himself.  
“Stark.” He stared wide-eyed at the man, frozen to the spot.  
“Great to see you too, Reindeer Games.” The mortal smiled charmingly. He set his briefcases down on the small kitchen table and pulled up a chair motioning for the other to sit. Loki did so, waving his hand first to clear up the shattered cup and tea stains. Elora took her stance standing next to Loki in a show of support with her hand gently resting on his shoulder. 

“So, I’m sure you are wondering why I’m here, no point in beating around the bush.” He lifted the leather briefcase onto the table and flicked it open, pulling out a great wad of paper.  
“This is the entirety of the SHIELD agreement to your living on earth. It’s really long and really technical but it boils down to these points:  
You live in the Avengers tower with us, and any vacation away has to be made with three weeks notice and at least one Avenger accompanying you.  
You are not allowed out in public alone and must be accompanied by at least one avenger at any time.  
You are not allowed access to any dangerous artefacts, excepting if you are in a SHIELD facility, surrounded by Avengers and/or other SHIELD personnel and only then when you have direct orders from Fury himself.  
You will not hurt, kill or maim any being, human or otherwise, unless the circumstances are dire and you need to defend yourself.  
No kidnapping.  
You are not allowed to attempt to gain any kind of political power by any means, lawful or otherwise.  
I think that’s about it. Oh and no breaking the law. If you violate any of these terms you will be judged with extreme prejudice and sent straight back to Asgard. Everything clear?”  
“Yes, except-”  
“Perfect, your signature is needed here, here and here.” Tony pointed out the places on the different forms as he slid them across the table to where Loki was sitting.  
“I don’t understand why you would think I want to live on Midgard.” Loki said, looking at Tony as though he had lost his mind. 

Reaching into the briefcase again Tony pulled out three large metal-looking balls and threw them onto the table. The balls rolled then stopped as though held together in a magnetised triangle. The balls projected images above them, working together to give a 3D effect. The images shown were various ones of the mortal man and a child, some had other mortals in and one or two even had Thor in them. In one image the young boy who was the common factor of all images had blue skin and red eyes, like that of a Jötunn. Loki gasped. 

“This is my son, Jamie. I adopted him after I caught him falling through a portal that opened over Avengers Tower.” Tony calmly explained, studying Loki’s face very closely. 

The god in question was staring at the images projected in shock, as though he was seeing a ghost. His hands gripped the arms of the chair his was sitting in so tightly his knuckles were going white and the wood began to creek. 

“On a recent trip to Asgard it was revealed to us that he was of royal Jötunn blood and logic lead us to you being the biological mother.” Tony continued. “It’s completely your choice as to wether or not you want to be a part of his life, but if you do, you have to sign those contracts and abide by them.” 

He reached into the case for a third and final time to take out a pen, suddenly the pen was not in his hand anymore but in Loki’s as he hunched over the papers and signed them quicker than Tony could blink. 

“When can I see him?” Loki asked, looking up and handing the papers back to Tony, there was an urgency in his tone and his movements that Tony had only seen in the heat of the battle when people were trying to escape from danger.

“Well, right away I suppose…” Tony said, taken aback at the god’s enthusiasm. 

Loki stood and Tony quickly packed the papers away. "I came via Bifrost so if you just want to pack up your things and step outside-" the inventor said, blinking as the god ran past him to his room where most of his belonging were still in the case from when he had arrived three years ago. 

Throwing his stuff in a bag and making a quick sweep-check to make sure that everything was in order, Loki ran back downstairs. he paused in the hall, turning to Elora. 

"My dear friend, you have been so good to me these past years, I-"  
"Oh do shut up and go find your son." She replied, cutting him off with a fond smile and teary eyes. "I wish you all the best for you and your new family. So long as you are happy that will be enough thanks for me."  
"You are the greatest friend there has ever been." He smiled back. 

Tony stood outside staring in wonder at one of the plants before he noticed Loki approaching and he straightened up, wandering back to the middle of the circular pattern that had been burnt into the lush forest ground upon his arrival. 

"Ok, so I guess this is it. Heimdall?" he called looking towards the sky. 

Once again Tony was surrounded but an assault of colour, feeling the strange compression and then, as the Bifrost direction was switched from Asgard to earth there was that feeling of stomach flipping you get when an elevator is going fast and suddenly comes to a halt.

Tony stumbled slightly as his feet hit the ground again, unbalanced by the weight different between the briefcase and his Iron Man case. Loki, being a seasoned Bifrost traveller showed no imbalance or discomfort from the ride.

He was showcasing nervousness and anticipation as his fingers drummed against the case in his hands hand his eyes flashed from Tony to the entrance of the tower. The god recognised that he was on the balcony of once Stark now Avengers Tower, the same one that had peeled the armour off of it's owner as he had confidently strutted in and offered the god a drink during the invasion. 

Tony took the lead and started towards the large glass doors that opened in front of him, at that moment a small boy came running around one of the corners and straight towards them.

"DADDY!" he smiled, jumping into the inventor's arms, causing the man to have to rather quickly drop both cases he had been holding. The soldier, Steve was his name if Loki remembered correctly, came from the same direction from whence he boy had come, smiling softly at the affectionate display and taking the cases for him self. 

"I missed you Daddy." the boy whined burying his head in his father's neck.  
"I was only gone," Tony pulls up one arm to check his watch. "Forty-five minutes. That's not even an hour."  
"But it's still so looong."  
"Whatever kiddo." Tony walked in shaking his head. 

Loki stood, staring at the child, or rather at the back of the child's head that he could see over Tony's shoulder.

That was his son. His baby boy. He was alive. 

From what he had seen when the child had run in he had a big toothy grin and sun-tanned skin. His hair was dark, though not quite as dark as his own and his eyes were a greenish-blue. 

Loki took careful steps into the room, putting down his briefcase and following Tony to the couch area where he sat dow opposite the man holding his child. Tony whispered something to the boy, leaning his head down to speak directly into his ear. Staying firmly planted in his father's lap, with one hand clinging to the front of his shirt, the boy turned and gave a furtive peek at the god who sat staring, wide-eyed, like a deer in the headlights. 

"Hi." he mumbled, a light pink blush giving his cheeks colour.  
"Hello." Loki let out breathlessly. 

Tony could see that Jamie was suddenly overcome by an enormous shyness and Loki was too starstruck to do more than stare.

"Jamie, this is your biological mother, Loki. Loki, this is your son, Jamie. Loki is going to be living with us from now on in the tower. Would you prefer a bedroom on this floor or would you like a floor of your own?" he asked, directing the last bit at Loki.  
"Uh..."  
"This is the floor that Jamie and I share, there is a bedroom down the hall near to ours if you want it, the Avengers are living on their own floors below us so you would probably be about six or seven floors down. The upside about having your own floor is more space and more privacy, the room up here is quite big, though slightly smaller to the ones we stayed in on Asgard."  
Loki swallowed, taking his eyes off of the lump clinging to Tony . "I think I will take the room, if that's alright. I don't really have that much so a floor to myself would be unnecessary."

"Right well, let's show you to your room." Tony says, getting up and motioning for Loki to follow him once more.  
The room Tony showed him was down a corridor and to the right, it was rather plain, with a few pictures on the walls and white sheets. There was a ceiling to floor wardrobe and an en-suite bathroom. the view of the city from this height was breathtaking but Loki did not pay any of that much mind.  
He dropped his bag by the bed and turned, ready to say something, he was not quite sure what when a voice seemed to speak from the ceiling.

"Sir, if I may, Dummy and U are fighting over a wrench again. They are getting worryingly close to rather volatile materials." 

Loki swerved his head, trying to find a source for the voice when Tony realised he had not introduced Jarvis yet.  
"Ah, yeah right. Loki, that was Jarvis, he's an artificial intelligence, he's a big computer who runs through the whole building. If you ever have any question or need anything you can ask him." Tony explained hurriedly. He was bending over to put Jamie on the floor and the toddler whined wordlessly, still clinging to his shirt.  
"I have to go stop the bots from blowing us up, Jamie. I promise I'll be right back. Why don't you help Loki pick out some things for his room in our catalogue, hm?" he said softly, untangling himself from the boy's strong grip.

Jamie turned and walked to the bed, climbing up onto without ever looking Loki in the face.  
"Jarvis can you show us the catalogue, please?" Loki had to smile, his son had said please so at least the mortal had raised him to be polite. From what he had seen so far the father and son seemed to have a very good relationship, much better than he had ever had with either of his fathers. 

Blue lights cast a projection, what looked like a book filled with pages upon pages of different furnitures and bedsheets, towels, decorations and clothes. Loki perched on the bed, close to the boy but not so as to appear strange or overly familiar. 

"See this here is the picture of the thingy and then those numbers are the size off it and thats the price, but you don't need to worry about that, my Daddy's rich so he can buy anything." Jamie explained. Boasting about his father made Loki smile but he also felt a pang of sadness because Stark was Daddy and Jamie could hardly look at him.

"And see if you go like this," Jamie motioned, putting his finger where the image of a white suede couch and dragging it over to a diagram that looked as though it was the basic layout of Loki's room. "Jarvis will show you a projection of what it would look like if it were here." And sure enough another projection of the couch, this time life-size, appeared next to the wardrobe where Jamie had placed it on the diagram.

"Well, since I have lived elsewhere all my life I don't quite know what styles there are here on earth. Perhaps you could help me pick out new things?" Loki offered. 

This time Jamie turned his head and looked at him curiously before his whole face broke out into a grin.  
"Ok!" Whatever this child did, he always seemed to be cheerful and enthusiastic, that reassured Loki somehow.

They sat on the bed, looking through different couches before they settled on a nice green armchair that looked big enough to fit two. Then they went through the curtain collection and Jamie thought that the white one with the gold swirls and pretty flowers growing from the bottom looked cool, so those were ordered too. 

As Jamie sat talking animatedly about the different televisions and games consoles they had come across Loki couldn't help but feel his emotions get the better of him. He tried to stay as quiet as he could but a sniffle alerted Jamie to the tears now streaking down his pale face. 

"What's wrong?" He asked innocently, worried that he had done something to upset the other.  
"Nothing, my child. Its just...I thought I had lost you for so long. I thought I'd never get to see you smile again, I'd never watch you grow up. For all I knew you could have been dead, yet here you are. Alive and smiling. I'm just so relieved I haven't lost you completely." he half blubbered through his tears. Inside he was berating himself, how could he ever earn this child's respect and love if he simply cried all the time. 

Jamie seemed to understand why he was so upset and shuffled closer to wrap a comforting arm around him in an awkward hug. Loki slowly took advantage of the boy's sympathy and scooped him up into his lap for a better hug. 

After a few minutes of crying and gently rocking his baby as he had done all those years ago in that cell he apologised quietly, Jamie pulled away slightly and smiled up at him. 

"It's ok. One time I lost my Dad in a store and I couldn't stop crying and he was only gone two minutes. I guess you've been missing me a lot longer, huh?" he reassured Loki, making said man give out a small chuckle. 

"Just a little bit." 

Tony smiled from the doorway where he had watched the little scene unfold. He was glad that Jamie had finally overcome his shyness. For the past week since learning that Loki was his mother and that he had been wanted he had done nothing but ask when could he meet him, why couldn't they go now etc...

"I hate to ruin the moment, but Bruce just sent out a message, dinner's ready down on the common floor. If you'd like to join us..." Tony trailed off leaving the invitation open.  
"What did he cook?" Jamie asked, head tilted.  
"Curry for the adults, you get that delicious rice with Bruce's chicken nuggets and green beans." 

Jamie sprung from the bed and began racing for the door when he paused, turning to face Loki.  
"Are you coming?" He asked, and who was Loki to deny him anything.

Loki got up and followed them from the room to the elevator, there was a short ride before the doors opened again and Loki was faced with the team that had engineered his defeat, minus one thunder god. Strangely enough the agent that Loki had remembered skewering during the battle was also present and quite definitely not dead.

The dinner passed with relative ease, with Bruce, Steve and Tony making polite small talk and trying to get a decent conversation going. Clint sat between Nat and Phil, occasionally sending the trickster glares, but with the way that Jamie had seemed to have warmed up to him and the way Loki obviously cared very deeply for the boy Clint could hardly pick an argument here and now. Jamie had decided that since Loki was from Asgard and had only been to earth once in the last century, it was his duty to get him up to speed with everything new. The things a three year old thought were important (no matter how mature and ahead of his age group he was) where quite different to what others would consider important. 

For example, the Winter soldier had been apprehended and, with Steve and Nat's help, Bucky was slowly regaining his memories and becoming more and more human everyday, was what adults would consider important. For Jamie the important changes where that one of the cartoons he was watching had changed times and clashed with another of his favourites.

After dinner Tony had allowed Jamie, after said boy's incessant pleas, for one game and then bed. 

Jamie picks out Articulate, it was one of his favourite games, and the other Avengers secretly enjoyed playing it too. Nat and Clint made up one team, they were ridiculously in sync at times and so they almost always won. Bruce and Steve formed another and Tony and Jamie were the last team. Loki sat and watched as they began playing.

After the first few minutes he could easily grasp the concept of the game, trying to make someone guess a word without saying said word and getting around the board first. The doctor seemed to have just noticed Loki sitting by them and watching the game silently when he piped up.

"Loki, do you want to play? I'm sure we could figure out a rota for a group of three." He asked.  
"I thank you for your invitation, however I fear I might be a little useless, the name cards as well as those more geographically themed would not be ones I could likely help with, besides, you are getting along just fine as is. I am content to simply watch." He replied, as politely as possibly. 

The others seemed fine with that choice but he got the occasional curious glance from the billionaire between rounds. Loki did his best to look as though he was done on the outside, something he had mastered early on in his life. On the inside however he was morning the fact that he could not join in and play with his son, it simply put an emphasis on the fact that he had been absent for nearly all of his son's life.

 

These feelings Loki had that evening continued for long after that. He walked in one morning to see Jamie sat in front of the television, there were animated characters who seemed to be building some kind of giant robot and then there was an animal who had intelligence far beyond what he should have wearing a hat and fighting crime. 

When he asked Jamie about it his son replied that it was 'Phineas and Ferb' and that the animal was a platypus. Jamie began to launch into and explanation of the series and who everyone was and what was happening. After a while Tony came in and jumped on the couch next to them.

"Aw cool, Phineas and Ferb. What are they doing today?" He asked smiling. 

Jamie slid closer to his father, cuddling up against his side with comfortable ease and answered. Loki felt another stab seeing how comfortable Jamie was with him, it made sense, for his whole life Jamie had known this man as 'Daddy', he was the one who soothed him as a babe, he was the one who tucked him in at night and hugged him after his nightmares, he was the one who kissed better every cut and every scrape. 

Loki had only been present for the past few days and that cannot come between years of love and warmth, however that reasoning and logic did not make the pain any easier. Again and again over the days to come Loki would have to ask Jamie or Tony, he would have to ask about his own son's likes and dislikes, he learnt that his son did not like asparagus but had a love for broccoli, a love which his father seemed to think strange. 

It was one evening, when Loki was sat on the couch in the dark after putting Jamie to bed that Tony finally confronted him.  
"Hey, Reindeer. So what's up? And don't tell me nothing because you get that really depressed look in your eyes every time you think Jamie's not looking. Tell me, why so glum?" the billionaire demanded, perching on the edge of the coffee table opposite Loki. 

"I don't know my own son. I am a stranger to him."  
"Well, yeah. You've only been here what? A little over a week. It's normal, you'll get to know in no time." Tony tried to reassure, not very good with emotions.  
"But it is not normal, as you say. He is my son, my flesh and blood, I carried him for a year inside of me and yet I cannot hold a conversation with him over his likes because he has to stop every few sentences to explain earthen concepts to me. And I can tell he grows weary of it, how long until he finds me annoying and discards me completely?" Loki went on, his voice trembling, he should not cry, he could not cry, not in front of this mortal.  
"If-if everything had gone as i had planned he would be with me, on Alfheim, you would never have known of his existence nor he yours. But fate is cruel and has decided to make you the most important person on his life while I cannot find any kind of common ground from which to build a relationship with mine own son." Loki had to breath deeply to hold back any sobs as he felt his throat clench up.

Tony had sat and dutifully listened to Loki's rant without interruption, he himself knew that it was sometimes best to just let everything out in all it's hideous glory and then work on how to fix it. The last part of what Loki had said had sparked an idea in his head, an idea that might improve things. 

"Magic." He breathed softly, Loki looking up at this. "You have magic or whatever right? that's your in with Jamie!" the more he thought about it the better the idea seemed to him. Loki seemed appalled by the idea. 

"Are you suggesting I use my seiðr to make my son love me? You dare-" Loki began, his voice raising, no longer cracking as he was overcome with anger instead.  
"NO! Never. Though it comforts me that you find that idea as awful as I do. No what I mean is- see when we were on Asgard Jamie was told he came from a line of powerful mages. He has always loved the idea of magi, heck he has read Harry Potter and The Philosopher's Stone to me three times already. The thing is, on earth there aren't that many magic users, i mean there's Doom but thats a big no-no and there's Doctor Strange but he doesn't have time for teaching Jaime. If you could show him, if you could teach him how to use magic or whatever you call it, that would be your way of becoming more than a stranger to him. You'd be someone he could look up to and learn from." The mad inventor explained. 

"As for earth culture, the Avengers can help you with that, I mean we've gone through it with bringing Steve up to date. You could go to him and ask for help, he wouldn't mind helping trust me, he too goody to leave anyone clueless. If they aren't there you can ask me or Jarvis, you'll be up to speed in no time." Tony encouraged, rubbing Loki's knee in what he hoped was a comforting manner. 

Loki thought about what the mortal had said, he had to admit it wasn't a bad idea. His first thought had been to dismiss the idea, he would not have his son being mocked for such a feminine trait as being a mage, on the other hand it had been Tony to bring it up. Perhaps here on Midgard seiðr was not thought to be degrading as it was on Asgard. Loki smiled softly at the idea of being able to teach his son all the little tricks he used when he was younger, he could make a trickster out of his son yet. 

Tony saw Loki's furtive smile and felt his heart warm, it had been awful to hear Loki degrade himself to a stranger in Jamie's life. It was true that he was not as close with Jamie as the others were but he was still important to Jamie, that Tony knew. And even if he wouldn't say it out loud, it was nice to see Loki smile, real smiles, not the manic ones he had worn during the invasion. When the god was with Jamie he had real smiles, ones that made Tony feel warm inside. 

~~

During the coming weeks, Loki is granted a room on Tony's lab floor to try and teach Jamie how to use his seiðr. When the idea had first been proposed to Jamie he had stood wide eyed for a moment, then no one could stop him jumping around the place, he was so giddy Tony threatened to never let him have anything sugar ever again. It didn't matter, Jamie was going to be a wizard, he was going to learn magic he was going to have his dreams come true. 

Loki had coached him to take it slow at first, he didn't want to test the boy's limit right away. They had little meditation session because, as a mage it is important to be calm and have peace of mind. The meditation went about as well as you could expect with a little boy as giddy as Jamie was. 

After that came the learning of the histories of seiðr, it's risks and benefits. Then, then they got on to actually working with magic. At first Loki decided it was best to learn by watching, he showed Jamie a few tricks, conjuring clones, short distance teleporting and conjuring a flame. 

The flame is one of the first spells that all mages learn so he decided to start Jamie off on that one. Even though Jamie was not the most patient when it came to learning seiðr, Loki could not fault him for his determination. After two days of trying and testing, he had managed little more than splutters of sparks and a short flame before it flickered out. 

Loki came up behind him, crouching on his knees and putting a reassuring hand on the boy's shoulder. Jamie looked over at him with a forlorn expression. 

"It's not working." His little face looked so sad Loki could hardly bare it. he put one finger under the boys chin and lifted it up.  
"You can't give up, do you think your father gave up when the bad men told him to build bombs for them?" He asked.  
"No, he made Iron Man 'stead."  
"Exactly, now come on. Try once more, you can do it. I believe in you." Loki encouraged. 

With a newly determined expression Jamie turned back to his task, he breathed deeply and began again. Sparks started to flutter, and Loki gave his shoulder a squeeze, then suddenly, a flame. not a small dwindling one but a proper flame. 

"I did it!" Jamie squealed in delight, not quite believing his eyes.  
"You did, that's fantastic Jamie." Loki smiled proudly.  
"I have to show Daddy!" Jamie then said, bringing a feeling of dread in to cloud Loki's good mood. 

Suddenly he wasn't in the tower anymore, he was in the palaces in Asgard, running to his father's office to show him his new cloning trick. He remembers how he had burst in all excitement and joy, ready to proudly show off his hard work to his father. 

He also remembers his father's anger at being interrupted when he was working, his fury at Loki's unannounced arrival. He remembers how heartbroken he had felt when Odin had dismissed his hard work and effort as unimportant and a waste of his time. 

Jamie's shoulder slipped from under his hand as the boy ran off to find his father, and Loki was back, ready to chase after him and stop him before he could ever feel the way Loki had on that day so long ago. He was too late.

"Daddy look what I did!" Jamie exclaimed running towards the man. Tony was hunched over one of his suits his hand deep in the mechanics as he repairs some of the damage that had been done in the last Avengers battle. Loki could see him look up and put down his tools, preparing to make up excuses for Jamie and get him out of the line of fire bubbled up in his throat. Tony saw the flame and suddenly he was crouching down to be at face level with Jamie.

"That is...AWESOME. You created that flame all by yourself? You are fantastic. Jarvis have the bots clear this away, I gotta test this out." 

The floating blue equations and images of the suit's interior where cleared away and the clawed robots removed the armour as Tony picked Jamie up to sit him on the table. 

"Does it generate heat? Where dose the flame come from? What is even burning? How?" he began to question as he stared at the flame and Jamie giggled. Loki was taken aback, the Avenger had just put aside all his work, everything he had been doing to marvel at Jamie's flame. 

The man picked up a stray paper cup that had once held coffee and held it just over the flame for a few seconds. When he took it away the cup was burning.

"So it's real fire, not just an illusion." he murmured staring at the burning cup before it started to burn his fingers. "Ow!" he exclaimed throwing the cup down. It was not left for long however as another of the bots sprayed the cup with a white foam that put the fire right out. 

"Alright, now here's the most important question: Can you throw it?" Tony asked looking at Jamie. The boy looked down shyly then back to Loki. 

After another ten minutes of quick instruction Jamie tried it out. The flame balled up in his hand as he threw and it flew through the air. The ball crashed into the wall where it was thoroughly sprayed with the foam again. 

"Fantastic!" Tony beamed, high-fiving Jamie. "Dummy, U collect all the energy drink cans and paper coffee cups you can find, Butterfingers, clear that table. Jamie, we're going to be testing out your aim." 

The boy whooped as he stood and turned to face the designated table. Tony turns and searches through a few drawers before he turns around with three pairs of safety goggles. He and Jamie each have their own pair and Loki is given a pair of Bruce's. 

Loki steps closer and coaches Jamie through conjuring the flame again, then making it a ball and finally containing that ball as he threw it through the air. The first few tries, Jamie misses, they can forgive him, he is young after all. But then he tries again and he hits one of the cans which, not only get knocked over but suffers through a mini explosion, complete with smoking remains. 

Tony and Loki both congratulate him as he jumps up and down. They continue to blow up the cans for a while longer and Loki finds himself feeling very comfortable. He isn't a stranger anymore, he isn't quite mummy yet, but that's okay. He knows that his relationship with his son will have to build over time and he doesn't mind so much about that anymore, because Jamie is happy, he is accepted and loved even though he is an alien compared to everyone else. He has everything Loki had always thought his childhood had been lacking and more. It was true it wasn't the upbringing he had planned for Jamie, but it wasn't the worst either. 

And that evening, when Tony clapped him on the back as he told the other of what they had done, Loki felt like maybe he didn't mind that getting closer to his son meant getting closer to Tony. 

~~

Ever since the fireball game, Jamie had noticed that his Dad and Loki had been spending a lot more time together. Loki wanted to learn about the new television shows so that he could finally understand all the quotes and pop culture references that he didn't know because he hadn't lived on earth that long. 

But then they would spend time everyday, while Jamie practiced the new spell or spells he had learnt, talking and doing science-y things together like his Dad and Uncle Bruce would. Sometimes Uncle Bruce joined them. 

He had noticed that his Dad and Loki would sit next to each other at meals and when they watched television. Jamie didn't mind that they were getting closer, and, after having happened across The Parent Trap on disney channel one day, Jamie had decided that he really wanted his parents to get together and be married and happy like everyone else's parents. 

Jamie knew he was smarter and more advanced than other children his age but he also knew that if he wanted to get his parents together he might need some outside help. And that is what brought him here, onto Aunty Tasha's floor.

He had asked Jarvis to ask if he could come down so she knew he was coming down. The elevator ride seemed so long and yet when the door opened he had wished it was longer. He had prepared what he was going to say but he had forgotten it all on the way down. 

"What brings you down to my lair?" Came Aunty Tasha's light-hearted voice from the couches where she sat painting her nails. 

Jamie made his way over and climbed up on a seat next to her. "That's a nice colour." he said looking at the bright red of her nails.  
"Thank you, it's called Vodka and Caviar. But my nails are not the reason you came to talk to me are they?" She looked over to where Jamie was suddenly interested in his shirt hem. 

The boy took a deep breath and then rushed out; "Howdoyougettwopeopletofallinlovewitheachother?" 

At that Natasha raised her brow and gave Jamie a little smile. "You've noticed it too, huh? The way Tony and Loki smile at each other and little innocent touches."

Jamie nods and then looks up at her again. "I think that they like each other but they might love each other if we...helped."  
"You know what," She replied, putting down the pot of varnish and turning to face Jamie properly. "I think you might be right." 

The devilish duo sat and discussed at length the ways in which they could get Tony and Loki to realise their attraction for one another, plotting and planning. It had to be something that was not too obvious but at the same time it couldn't be too complicated because Jamie was the key player, as it was him that had brought the two men together in the first place. So, eventually they came upon a decision:

Jamie had never been camping before and he wanted to try it out. He would ask Tony and Loki to go with him, and Natasha would inform SHIELD so that they would have their three weeks holiday notice. Then during that time they could order a tent, because Tony was not one fond of the outside and so a tent was not likely to be in his possession.the only thing was, they would order a tent with two rooms.

Upon arriving at the camping area and pitching the tent, the others would notice this fact. Jamie would call dibs on one room and thereby force Tony and Loki to share the other one. 

Once the pair were both satisfied with the plan they were about to leave and set it in motion when Jarvis chimed in.

"Lunch is prepared and being served on the communal floor. The primal time for organising a camping trip three weeks from now would be on the 25th as there has been a storm predicted for the following days." he said with a hint of smugness in his voice. 

Jamie was glad to know that he had Jarvis's approval, it would make it so much easier than it would have been without him. 

~~

So far the plan had gone wonderfully. Tony and Loki had both been up for the camping trip, Jarvis had planned the place and time, Jamie had ordered the too small tent and they had begun packing their things ready to go. 

Bruce and Steve had decided that it would be safer and less like for them to get salmonella if they pre-made sandwiches for their dinners and kept them in a cooler instead of cooking raw meat on a fire. Tony had gone all out, buying everyone blowup mattresses and the best quality sleeping bags money could buy. 

The camping ground they had found was pretty decent and would also mean they could hike up a mountain which for Jamie was an added bonus. He had told them that he wanted to have an adventure like the ones Loki and Uncle Thor had gone on when they were younger. 

Tony had decided he wanted to drive them up instead of taking a train, because even if it would be Loki's first train ride, neither of them thought the god would have particularly enjoyed being enclosed in a car full of other mortals.

The drive was surprisingly pleasant as Jamie and Loki chatted about their seiðr lessons with occasional questions from Tony. He still didn't quite understand the science behind how magic worked. 

Before long they had arrived, Tony took one look at the hike and then decided that in future he would set Jarvis to remind him that he was not a hiker person should he ever so nonchalantly agree to something like this ever again. 

Loki was happy, what with his superior strength and endurance, to carry as much equipment and bags, which to be all that honest they didn't have too much of. Jamie was thrilled his plan was working so far and he began racing ahead, leaving Tony and Loki behind. 

"Is this your first hike?" Loki asked teasingly at the panting billionaire.  
"Oh, shut it you with your godly stamina." and suddenly Tony's mind had wandered to what else the god could do with that stamina. "It's my first camping trip too." He added, trying to move his mind onto thinking about more innocent topics. 

"You mean to say you never went camping as a boy?" Loki asked, somewhat incredulous.  
"Well, I went to MIT at fifteen and before that my Dad wouldn't give me the time of day, never mind a day spent out with just me and him on our own."  
"I am sorry. Though if it makes you feel any better, my father wouldn't give me the time of day either. He was too busy with Thor." Loki replied, a little bit of bitterness in his voice.  
"Huh, funny you should say that because mine was too busy trying to find Steve. What is it with attractive muscular blondes stealing all the attention?" Tony joked, trying to bring the mood up a bit.  
"You find Thor attractive?" Loki asked, with what Tony thought sounded like a hint of disappointment.  
"Well, yeah I suppose. Not really my type though, well, at least when it comes to men. If Thor was a lady then I'd totally do him."  
Loki chuckled. "In that case, you may want to hear the story of when Thor lost his hammer..."

Jamie heard laughter coming from behind him and turned to see his Dad and Loki. His Dad was doubled over laughing, with one arm holding into Loki's shoulder for support. Once they had stopped laughing they smiled at each other and Jamie felt bubbles of excitement rising up. His plan was working!

Just then Tony looked up and saw Jamie watching him with a soft smile on his face, it made him blush though he was already a little red in the face from the exercise so he hoped no one would notice.

"How much further, Stitch?" He called up.  
Jamie turned to survey his surroundings. "I can see the campsite from here." He called down, and Tony let out a sigh of relief. Just because he had gotten healthier over the past few years didn't mean he was as fit as Clint, and no where near Steve. 

Once they got to the top, the first thing they did was flop down on the floor. The soft grass tickled the backs of their necks and their bare legs where their shorts cut off. Even Loki, who didn't even brake out into a sweat seemed content with the rest he was getting. 

"It is nice to be outside once more." He mused aloud. "Though perhaps we should put the tent up and prepare our sleeping arrangements before darkness falls." 

It was true that the sun was quite low in the sky already, though Tony had not felt the time pass. He supposed what they said about time passing when you have fun is true then.  
Though now that there was work to be done in putting up the tent he was sure time was going to slow down quite a bit. 

"What on earth do these instructions even say? It's all in some weird language, Jamie did you do this on purpose?" He asked teasingly, Jamie blushed bright red.  
"No." He grumbled. 

Loki took a look over his shoulder at the instructions as he inspected one of the foldable poles he had taken out of the bag.  
"For a genius, you don't seem to know a lot." Loki teased.  
"Hey, first camping trip, remember."  
"Well then I suppose I'm the expert, and I'm not even of this realm." 

Tiny stuck his tongue out childishly as Loki set to work, he occasionally glanced over the booklet and enlisted both Jamie and Tony's help when needed. Within twenty minutes, which was admittedly longer than any of them thought it would take, they had a tent. 

"Are you noticing what I'm noticing here?"  
"There only seem to be two sleeping areas." Loki agreed.  
"But it said three piece on the website." Jamie said. Loki raised his eyebrow, he was the god of lies and he sensed something was wrong with that statement. It was not an outright lie but it was not the whole truth. Still he did not want to put to the test their budding relationship so he let that one slide. 

"It's ok buddy. We can just double up." Tony smiled, not that bothered.  
"But I wanted to sleep on my own. I'm old enough now." He griped.  
"You aren't that old, I keep forgetting you're only three, you act like a five year old. Maybe even older." Tony reminded Jamie.  
"We do have rather fast rates of growth during the early years to make up for the slower going of our older years." Loki explained. It was a weird Jötunn/Aseir thing, Tony presumed. 

"Fine. Loki, you don't mind sharing do you?" Loki had been about to suggest that he could sleep outside under the stars, but the prospect of being allowed in the tent with Tony seemed preferable.  
"No, I do not mind." Not one bit, he thought to himself. 

Tony had to admit that even though the tent thing could have been a drawback, he felt a little flutter of excitement at the prospect of sleeping next to Loki. It wasn't even the prospect of something sexual happening that got him feeling that way. 

Yes, since Jamie had come along Tony had slowed down with his sexual partners but he had still dated a few people here and there. Recently he hadn't been seeing anyone and becoming so close with Loki was doing things to his libido. But tonight he didn't want anything like that, not least of all because Jamie would be the other side of some thin material where he would be able to hear maybe even see everything. Instead tonight he just wanted the comfort of sleeping next to someone who wouldn't be gone by morning. 

Shaking off his sentimental thoughts, Tony got out the three blow up mattresses and the air pump he had bought. He began pumping them up as Loki started to collect twigs and other bits of dried wood to start a fire. 

Soon enough, the sun set and the crickets began chirping like mad. They had their fire set up, thanks to Loki, and their mattresses were all perfectly pumped, thanks to Tony. Jamie had fetched the cooler they had brought with all their sandwiches while Loki opened a bottle of water and poured some into a metal pot he had brought, setting it close on the edge of the burning wood.

"What's that for?" Jamie asked, curiously.  
"When I went to find wood for the fire I also saw some mint plants. The water will boil in the pot and then you put the mint leaves in and have mint tea. Come on, you can help me get the mint." 

Jamie left the cooler with Tony while he went off with Loki. Tony smiled at the ease between the two of them. It was all thanks to his genius plan that they were so close now, and yeah, Tony took a lot of pride in that. 

 

He got out some of the plastic plates they had brought with them and started to share out the sandwiches. Jamie got ham and cheese, which he loved so that was perfect. Tony's had chicken, egg and mayo so he was happy. Loki had some of the chicken ones Tony liked and some that looked like they had no meat at all, just salad, avocado and cheese. What a weirdo, Tony thought. Well, at least the healthy ones were for Loki, he was glad that Bruce and Steve hadn't snuck anything other that lettuce in his sandwich. He was worse than Jamie when it came to eating vegetables. 

Tony also got out a little package he had been keeping secret. Loki and Jamie got back and they dug into their sandwiches as they waited for the leaf water to boil. Once they had finished their dinner Tony took opened the secret package.

"Loki, since you were a great help with both putting up the tent and building the fire, I would like to express my thanks by introducing you to a camping must-have." Loki and Jamie were looking at him quizzically. Tony suddenly threw a packet at Jamie and one at Loki. Jamie looked down at the marshmallows in his lap, then over to the chocolate on Loki's. Tony then pulled out a packet of his own, Graham crackers. 

"S'mores!" Jamie shouted, delighted at the idea.  
"What in the nine realms is a s'more?" Loki asked.  
"Aw it's the best. You cook a marshmallow on the fire and then you melt the chocolate and you squish it between two crackers and it's a s'more and it's the best!" Jamie hurriedly explained as he tore open the packet ready to get started with his s'mores straight away. 

Loki laughed at his eagerness and followed the careful instructions given by both Tony and Jamie so that he may produce the perfect s'more. They sat eating s'mores and demanded tales of adventures Loki had been on, Tony knew he was a good storyteller from the bridal Thor story and so he couldn't wait to hear more. 

When it came to Tony's turn to tell a story, he found that both Loki and Jamie were very impressed, though that was probably because Jamie was too young and Loki had not been brought up to date on spooky campfire stories to know that Tony was telling them the same old run of the mill ones that had been around for ages. 

The best part of the evening though, was when night had truly fallen, the crickets were chirping contentedly and they could look up into the sky and actually see the stars. There was no pollution around to obscure their view out here, just a dark sky scattered with millions upon millions of stars, some bigger or brighter, some small and clustered together. 

Jamie had crawled onto Tony's lap and had begun to drift off as they stared at the night sky, a soft breeze sending chills down Tony's back as he pulled his coat over the both of them. 

"I think...yes, I remember long ago, when I had first come to earth I learnt a few of the constellations. Old ones granted but, I think...there. Nidhogg it's called, a serpent that lives at the roots of the Yggdrasil. Although in actual truth he is a dragon. And Friggjarrokkr, it means Frigga's staff." 

Tony had turned to look where he was pointing but it was hard to see when there were so many damned stars that could mean a whole bunch of things to different people.  
"Where's the serpent?" He asked, curious with his head titled to the side as he squinted at the sky. Loki tried to suppress a laugh, Tony did look so lost. 

"Here," he said quietly, shuffling around so that he was pressed slightly against Tony's back as he moved the other mans head and pointed the stars out for him. "You see there, and then over here is the staff." Loki pointed out. 

"Oh, yeah. I have a feeling that we might call that Orion's Belt nowadays. Though I'm not sure who Orion is. Or why he has a belt." Tony smiled, turning to face Loki only to realise the man is a lot closer that he thought. 

Loki stared at the mortal and realised, this was the first time in an age that he felt a true companionship with someone. He had made friends with the Avengers of course and he always had Elora on Alfheim, but back on Asgard he had had a very tight knit group of people whom he could tolerate, Thor and his friends where being constantly kicked off that list, and yes, he had strings of lovers, or as mortals would call them 'one night stands', a phrase he had learnt watching popular daytime television with a certain archer. 

None of those lovers had ever had anything of any substance to them that could keep Loki entertained for any amount of time however. This meant that Loki would pick them up, use them and quickly discard them once they became too much of a bore. To think that one of them, he still wasn't sure which, was the father of his child was strange. 

But with this mortal he had been able to find himself a place to stay that didn't feel like he was totally ignored nor was he tortured on a regular basis. In seated he had found people who accepted him, a family that had welcomed him into their home and their lives and a mortal with an intelligence that surpassed that of his race and even many of those in Asgard. 

This mortal who was barely inches from him, who's chocolate brown eyes glinted with the reflection of the flickering flames, giving the illusion that his eyes were fire themselves, with flecks of gold. This mortal who he had only to lean ever so slightly forward and their lips would touch. This mortal who made his heart beat faster and his mood lighten from his mere presence in a room. 

This man whom Loki had a feeling that he may just be falling in love with, a sentiment he was unsure of as it could bring just as much joy as it could destruction and pain. 

Tony could feel Loki's cool breath on his lips as he exhaled, his mind was fighting a losing battle over risking his friendship with his son's mother or giving into what he really wanted a diving in for a taste of those thin pink lips. 

Unfortunately for the both of them, just as they had made their minds up, Jamie squirmed in Tony's lap, trying to find a more comfortable position to sleep in. Tony pulled back to look at the heavy bundle in his arms, noticing that Loki had also retreated. 

"I, uh, better get him in his sleeping bag." Tony mumbled, receiving a partial nod from Loki. The man shifted slowly, trying to stand but not to jostle Jamie so much as to have him wake. 

Loki helped open the tent flap and tuck their son into the sleeping bag before giving his forehead a light kiss.  
"I suppose I will retire for the night as well." He whispered to the mortal, settling himself into his own sleeping bag in the next 'room' over. It was not long before the mortal joined him. 

Lying there staring at the blue polyester and cotton tent roof, Tony felt very awkward. He had hardly ever real slept in a bed with someone unless they had both directed off post-sex or it had been snuggled up Pepper, with him as the big spoon curling around her. For him to be sleeping next to Loki made him nervous, especially since he had just been thinking about kissing the man. 

Nevertheless he finally managed to drift off to sleep, with him and Loki sleeping on opposite sides of the bed, facing away from each other. They way they woke up, well it was a little different. 

Loki's eyes fluttered open slowly, he was so comfortable and warm that he didn't want to ever move. There was something scratching at his forehead but it was soft enough that he didn't mind it. It took the god a moment to realise why his pillow was moving, his. Head was lying across Tony's chest, his legs pressed up against the mortal's side. One of Tony's arms was thrown over his shoulder and his breathing remained steady even as Loki shifted, blushing. 

It was as Loki began to try and move away that he felt it, his morning wood pressing against the other man's thigh. Loki's eyes widened and his moving immediately stopped. It was embarrassing enough for him to have been pressed up against the mortal like he was some child and Tony his teddy bear but to have also been pressing his hard cock into the mortals thigh was mortifying. 

Said mortal chose that exact moment to wake himself, stretching as he awoke. Loki moved as fast as he could to the other side of the bed, the quick movement causing the blow-up mattress to bounce the mortal jolting him fully awake. 

Tony felt Loki move more that he saw him do it, from both the fact that the mattress made him jump half-an inch as the air was redistributed and from the fact that his whole right side now felt cold. 

The billionaire was quite used to waking with a boner more often than not so this morning it came as no surprise to him that he had a whole different type of tent. However the former playboy's current status did to him what he had thought impossible; it made him blush. Suddenly the reason for the other man's quick retreat was obvious. 

Tony coughed awkwardly, though it did nothing to ease the sudden tension between the two men, each worried about having wronged the other. Luckily for them, there was an over active three year old who just could not wait to start the day with a cooked breakfast. 

Tony and Loki were all furtive glances and hesitant conversation both on the hike back down to the car and the journey home. Jamie hardly noticed, much to both their joys, as he was too busy recounting how fantastic this trio was and how they needed to make it a tradition because he refuses to let this be the last camping trip they had. 

It wasn't until the elevator ride that the awkward silence was allowed to truly reign, making both adults uncomfortable and unsure in what they should do. Finally the doors pinged open and Tony was already thinking of 101 different ways to make those elevators faster for less future unease. 

The two men eagerly strode forward ready to be relieved of one another's company for the next few hours while they punched their pillows and cursed their anatomies. It seemed as tough the world was set against them as a cheerful archer popped up in front of them, effectively blocking their escape routes. 

"It was hard, wasn't it?" He grinned cheekily as though in on a secret.  
Tony and Loki's mouths dropped open and began spluttering, each trying to string together some kind of a sentence that made sense. Neither of the were able to do so. 

"I mean a whole twenty four hours away from modern tech and surrounded by nature, I'm surprised you didn't have a meltdown, Stark." He teased, and suddenly the tension in Loki and Tony's shoulders was gone and they were back to their grumpy selves.  
"Whatever Barton. Go back to the vents where you belong." Tony grumbled.

The billionaire brushed past the archer, not bothering to retaliate to the childish tongue sticking out of the archers mouth, instead choosing to walk straight to his room where he collapsed onto the bed as let out a frustrated shout, muffled by the pillow in his mouth. 

"Fuck, Jarvis. I fucked up. And I was really starting to like him." 

~~

Strangely enough Loki found that in the following weeks after the camping disaster, the mortal had thought that making jokes and being flirtatious would somehow help ease the mood after he had been violated by Loki's shameful morning wood. In an effort to keep the awkwardness at bay, Loki played along and found himself enjoying the innumerable vulgar innuendos the mortal could come up with about the tools in his workshop alone. 

Loki had to admit that he had thought of the mortal differently ever since that trip, and not in a wholly bad way. His attraction towards the mortal wasn't bad so to say, it was simply inconvenient. Should his advances be rebuked, it could create a tension between them and jeopardise Loki's relationship with Jamie as Tony had the control over wether or not Loki would stay on Midgard or be sent away. On the other hand, Loki had not been with anyone since before his fall and he was really starting to feel just how touch starved he was. Tony was not bad to look at and from his reputation and the fact that even now women still wanted to throw themselves at his feet for a chance of a night with him, Loki could safely assume he was a decent lover. 

The thing was, Loki had never been very good at long-term relationships, he preferred his encounters to be short and sweet. With this mortal short and sweet wouldn't be enough. He was fascinating, his mind faster than most and his intellect was far beyond what could be expected from a race considered to be so far behind compared to the other realms. Suffice to say, Loki wanted something more and the mortal could give it to him. The question was did the mortal want to give it?  
~~

Tony sat on the couch with a Starkpad resting on the arm as he typed and sketched out new ideas for a suit upgrade. His other hand was gently stroking the hair of one god of mischief who's head had taken up residence on his lap while they watched Wreak-It Ralph. The god had fallen asleep about a half an hour ago and Tony hadn't really noticed what he was doing until Pepper came in and gave him a soft smile. 

"I'll leave these here to be signed." she whispered, placing a stack of papers on the coffee table. "I'll come get them tomorrow. And when you start planning the wedding let me know, I've got some wonderful ideas." She teased before making a quick getaway. 

Tony sat and thought a little about what Pepper had said. Of course if he ever got married to anyone Pepper would still be a huge part of the planning, come to think of it, she and Loki seemed to get on really well, especially when they ganged up on Tony for no reason whatsoever (ok, so maybe he had forgotten to eat for 24 hours but everybody forgets things once in a while, right?). Loki didn't have many friends on earth other than the Avengers and a handful of the SHIELD agents that Tony allowed into the building. 

Other than the elf woman he had been staying with before Tony thought that Pepper would have a seizable chance of being the maid of honour. That got Tony questioning Asgardians marriages and if they even had maids of honour. Would they have that tradition of cutting the cake with their swords? And what kind if cake would they have on Asgard? They both liked chocolate, but Loki also loved lemon cake, so they would have to have one of those tiered cakes. Would they both wear suits or would Loki wear a dress? Or would he wear the dress? Or if they both wore dresses? 

Those last few thoughts were what shocked him out of his thinking. He and Loki hadn't even so much as kissed yet and he was planning their wedding? Jesus. 

The billionaire knew that he found Loki attractive, more than that his mind was as sexy and captivating as his body, but from they way Loki had recoiled from him in the tent, Tony had known to back off. Since then things had gotten better. Loki became more relaxed around Tony and the team, he began to cautiously flirt back and now he was asleep on the man's lap. They were nowhere near wedding stage yet, just making baby steps towards...something. 

~~

It had now been around six months since Loki had moved into the tower with Tony and Jamie. In that time he had managed to build up a perfect relationship with his son, minus a few hiccups wherein he sat and cried on Jamie because he had had a nightmare that this was all a dream and he was still lost. 

He and Tony had gotten no further in their shy near miss at a relationship although they did share a bed, but that was only because Jamie had a nightmare and wanted to sleep in between the both of them, so it didn't really count as anything. Not even when they woke up in the morning in the bed alone, both wearing nothing more than a pair of boxers. 

But today was going to be a volta in their almost-relationship. Because today was the day that Jamie decided he wanted to be blue. 

He had awoken that morning and felt like today he wanted to be different, and he wanted to watch Lilo & Stitch again. So, with a quick thought he changed his skin colour, letting the tanned skin bleed into blue, his eyes changing to that bright red. Scrambling out from under the covers he went to his full length mirror to admire how he looked, deciding that he wanted to wear a black top but no pants he ran to the elevator and down to the kitchen where there was a strong smell of bacon and eggs. 

"Just what do you think you are doing, young man?" Came Tony's disapproving voice. 

Loki froze where he sat at the breakfast bar, he had done so as soon as he ahead seen Jamie, partly out of the ingrained fear of frost giants, partly because he was worried of the tone Tony was speaking to Jamie with. 

What if Tony disliked his Jötunn form and taught Jamie to hate what he was as Loki hated himself? What if he hadn't known about the blue skin and is only just finding it out now? What of he would send them both away for being freaks. Loki's heart clenched at the thought, it would be a heavy blow if he should find that his mortal hated the very part of him that had made Jamie possible. 

"You know the rules, no pants no breakfast." Tony continued after a pause, Jamie huffed and put on his best kicked Thor look.  
"But that is uncle Steve's rule and uncle Steve's not here." He wined, dragging out the last word. 

The billionaire tilted his head to the side and looked contemplative for a while.  
"You know what? You're right." He quickly shimmied out of his own pants, throwing them out the door and down the hall. "No pants Tuesdays!" He exclaimed, lifting Jamie up and swinging him around playfully. 

Loki's heart slowed from it previous frantic beating and his mind was cleared of the thousand worries that had been piling up with his paranoia. He was content to watch them play around, only the faint smell of something on the edge of burning brought him out of his dreamy state. 

The god stood and made a quick path to the stove where the bacon was just perfect and the eggs were able to be saved from a black and charred fate.  
"How's the bacon?" Tony asked, moving Jamie to rest in his arms on his hip.  
'Why don't you taste it and see?" Loki replied, picking up a piece and turning to hold it out 

Without thinking, the man took the offered bacon straight for the gods hand, his tongue brushing against Loki's fingers as he took a bite. Their eyes met and the god held his breath, Tony forgot about the food in his mouth, not even chewing, simply staring into Loki's eyes, both of them stood still and unmoving, the tension in the kitchen was rising by the second. 

"Ahhhhhh," Jamie opened his mouth, titling his head backwards like a baby bird waiting to be fed by his mother. 

Loki dropped what was left in his hand into Jamie's mouth and he chewed while moaning appreciatively, not noticing the growing blushes on his parents faces. 

"I'll just, get some dishes." Loki mumbled, looking away from the other man.  
"Yep, sure." 

As they sat down Jamie began telling them of his plan to spend the day being lazy and watching Lilo and Stitch, Loki had never heard of it, making Jamie's eyes go impossibly wide. 

"Jarvis we need the tv ready now!" Jamie shouted a  
Taking his plate he marched out to the tv room. Loki looked on quizzically and Tony just smiled at him knowingly, taking his own plate and making a head motion for him to follow. 

The film was a lot better than Loki had expected, though he wasn't paying much attention, instead he watched as Tony and Jamie sat, side by side, quoting the film, giggling at the funny bits and snuggling up close to each other as they always did. Loki began to wonder if Jamie was not actually in his Jötunn form and he was just seeing things. 

Once the movie ended Tony had decided it was magic and engineering time, lifting Jamie over his shoulder like a sac of potatoes he marched over to the elevator, as Loki followed behind he couldn't help but stare at the mortal'a leg muscles and firm backside, licking his lips as he stared. 

"Alright then Stitch, let's go science!" He cheered upon entering the elevator, as he turned to hit the floor button and saw Loki's sceptical look.  
"Stitch? Really?"  
"Well the shoe kinda fits, I mean, he is my little blue alien that fell from the sky." Tony smiled.  
"ALSO cute and fluffy." Came Jamie's shout from over Tony's shoulder.  
"Would that make Thor Pudge the fish?" Loki smirked, earning him a gasp from Jamie.  
"She feeds him peanut butter sandwiches every Thursday, and Thursday is named after THOR'S DAY! THOR IS PUDGE THE FISH!" The boy said getting louder and louder as the sentence went on. 

Tony laughed at Jamie's sudden excitement, putting him back down on his own two feet as he had been wriggling enough to fall off Tony's shoulder.  
"Jarvis, we're gonna need you to stock up on peanut butter and bread by Thursday. We'll be making sandwiches." 

Down on the lab floor Tony began working away at his suits, Loki lead Jamie into their own little magic training room and they began today's lesson of creating illusory clones. It was hard work and Jamie was so young he could only concentrate on things for so long before his mind wondered and his attention span was up. 

"Do you go blue too?" Jamie suddenly asked. His face was curious, with all the innocence of a child and yet Loki hated him for asking that question. Hated that because he couldn't lie, not to his son. But telling him the truth would mean having to show him his true form, the form that he despised. If he showed that to Jamie. If his son found out just how much he disliked being blue, how would the boy react? 

Loki had found it a relief that Jamie was comfortable in his Jötunn form, even more so when he found out that Tony was indifferent to his change of colour, but to let them know of his insecurities and fears would be to burned them with the truth of his monstrosity. To let Jamie know of his shame would teach Jamie that he too should be ashamed of his skin and that was the last thing that Loki wanted. 

"Yes, I also have a Jötunn form," he was trying to find a good reason, an excuse to not have to show it.  
"Can I see?" Jamie asked before he could think of one, the god of lies and he could tell none to this innocent little boy.  
"Of course." Loki sighed, still hating what he was about to do. 

Taking a deep breath and closing his eyes Loki focused on the illusion and worked through removing it slowly, as of that would change anything. In his mind he was chanting reassurances, if Jamie was fine with his own skin why should he hate Loki's? No one else would see so why get so stressed about it. Just this once and then never again. 

 

Tony was still buried deep in his work when Steve came down with a tray and three plates of sandwiches and drinks.  
"You three forgot about lunch again, I can't believe how you have managed to survive this long with the amount of meals you miss and nights you spend down here. And where are your pants?" He tutted putting the tray down next to the billionaire.  
"Oh, your back. And it's only because of people like you and Pepper that I haven't died yet." Tony smiled at him. "Don't worry about the others, you won't want to interrupt their mojo in action, I'll tell them it's here." Tony assured, having interrupted their magic lessons before and learning that when a magical flame is around you do not want to distract the one controlling it. 

Steve nodded his thanks and left, leaving Tony to pick up the tray and ask Jarvis to give him the all clear.  
"Master Loki is in the midst of a spell, however it should not prove to be a danger to you or Jamie should you choose to enter." 

Taking that as as good a sign as any, Tony nudge the door open with his elbow. Concentrating on not making the tray tip and it's delicious looking contents spill onto the floor, Tony didn't notice how Loki's eyes flew open and gained the panicked look of a deer stuck in the headlights. 

"Are you ready for Steve's splendid sandwiches?" He chuckled at his own wit, gaining and enthusiastic yes from Jamie and silence from the other man. Looking up curiously Tony saw why; the once alabaster skin was now a deep blue and in those blood red eyes Tony could see a flash of fear before it was covered by a cool mask. 

Jamie jumped up and made grabby hands for his sandwich, everyone knew Steve made the best sandwiches.  
"Alright then Stitch, here you go," Tony said, sitting himself down cross-legged next to his son and passing over a plate.  
"What about you Snowflake?" 

The question brought Loki out of his petrified state, he couldn't help but notice the appreciative look the billionaire gave him and suddenly it wasn't cold fear coursing through his veins but a warm heat, thankfully the blush was hidden by his new skin tone. 

Loki's heart continued to pump overly loudly as he slowly lowered himself to the floor, he gaze shifting from Jamie stuffing his face with his sandwich and Tony extending a plate towards him. The others were completely oblivious to his discomfort, either that or they were doing well to hide it. 

"After lunch can we got to the park?" Jamie asked, already halfway through his sandwich.  
"Sure, you wanna invite Valeria and Franklin too?" Tony asked and Loki nearly chocked on his food.  
"Do-do the other mortals not..." Loki wasn't quite sure how to phrase it delicately, luckily enough for him, Tony knew what he was trying to ask. 

"I've bought out a small park, it's totally gated off and only people I have expressly allowed can enter. Valeria and Franklin are the kids of some other supers we get along with. They're a bit older but our little genus can keep up." Tony smiled, ruffling Jamie's hair and earning a huff from the latter. 

"Jarvis call the others, let's see who else wants to come." 

 

An it turned out all of them wanted to go, including Pepper. Loki had wanted to change back to his usual skin, wanted to not be blue, but Jamie had stayed by his side most of the afternoon and when he wasn't there Tony was. To change back on front of either of them would be to show his discomfort with his skin and that would lead to a whole new bunch of problems. 

So, much to his disdain, Loki is stuck in his Jötunn form for the remainder of the day, and that meant showing it to the others. As the elevator descended to the garage level where they would be meeting up with the others Loki tried his best to hide his fear. He did not know if it was by a coincidence or not but Tony's shoulder brushed against his own and it calmed him. 

The doors opened and they stepped through. Loki held his breath to wait of the disgust, for the insults and the hatred he was bound to receive. Instead he received none. The most he got was yet another appreciative glance from Miss Potts. 

"Well now, Loki, I suppose we'll just have to go on another shopping trip to get you clothes to suit your new colours. Such a shame." She smiled, absolutely loving the idea of another shopping spree with Loki. It was so fun to introduce him to the ever-changing earthy fashion.

Loki simply smiled in return, thankful that none had made a big deal out of the change, but also thankful to know that they were accepting of it as well.  
Upon reaching the private park Loki had to confront Tony on his definition of small. The park was around the same size as his own private gardens had been on Asgard, how the mortal had managed to get so much space in such a busy city he had no idea. There was a group of people, not far off from the entrance, Loki recognised them from a few of the news reports he had seen, they were the group know as the fantastic four (a rather presumptuous name, Loki thought, and not nearly as punchy and awe inspiring as the Avengers). 

The two children ran over to greet them, running off with Jamie and not once blinking at the blue he wore, in fact no one here seemed to care at all. It rather baffled him to an extent. 

"How about I take you on a little tour of the gardens." Tony offered, sensing Loki's discomfort.  
"That would be pleasant." Loki smiled, letting the man lead the way.  
Once they were out of ear shot Tony took the opportunity to speak freely with Loki again.  
"There has been something on your mind for a while now, you want to talk about it?" He attempted, seeing Loki's apprehension he was quick to add "You don't have to, god knows I'm not the best for advice giving but, if you just need to talk, I'm here to listen." 

The god took a deep breath, thinking about what he was going to say.  
"I suppose it is simply...strange for me. To see Jamie in his other form and have everyone...not panic.  
Since I was a boy I've been told great tales of how we fought against the ugly frost giants and won how they were monstrous beings who would snatch naughty children from their beds and eat them alive. I was taught to hate everything I am and to come here and see you all being so accepting, it baffles me." 

Tony wanted to reassure Loki, to hug him close and tell him everything would be alright but now is not the time or the place to do so. Instead he kept quite but nodded encouragingly, hoping for Loki to open up more. 

"Why did you take him?" Loki suddenly asked. "He was not yours in any way, by blood or even by species, so why take him? Why treat him as your own? You have given him your love, your home, your name, you treat him as though he is your own."  
"Because he is my own. He's my son, not amount of blood will change that, so yeah he turns blue, Bruce goes green, I've got a nightlight carved into my chest, Steve has super soldier serum running through his veins, unless you haven't noticed, we're all a little bit different from everyone else. That doesn't mean we're monsters or that we should be alone. Our differences are what makes us great, they are what brought us together and made us a family.  
From the first time I held Jamie I knew that of I let him go, if I decided to make him someone else's problem he would probably grow up like I did; alone. I didn't want that to happen, so I decided, finders keepers.  
Well, that and- I wasn't sure I'd ever get to have kids of my own, you know. I've had enough paternity suits but I've always been careful and I wanted to make sure that the child was mine and not some wannabe mother trying to squeeze her fifteen minutes of fame from a baby. With Jamie I knew there was no parent on the other end who wanted to sponge off my money. He needed me and...it felt nice, to be needed." 

They had nearly done the full round of the park and were approaching the others when Loki decided to move to a slightly lighter topic.  
"This is a lovely park, truly. How did you find it?"  
"Aha, yeah about that. It was empty land, the buildings had been destroyed in the Chitauri attack and no one had claimed it so I bought it up and had it converted to a park, that way we could have private picnics where Jamie wouldn't have to worry about his skin colour and Pep could take advantage to throw sophisticated outdoor parties for clients and fun charity days for PR."  
"Oh yes, it comes in handy every once in a while when these lot get out of hand and could use some good press." Pepper jumped in, having heard the last of their conversation.  
"Ahh, you love us anyway." Clint intoned, earning himself a sharp jab in the ribs from his fellow assassin. 

"Come on, let's properly introduce you to the four." Pepper said grabbing his arm and pulling him away before anyone could protest. 

~~

"Loki, are you sad because I took the last chocolate?" Jamie asked as Loki was tucking him in.  
"No, my child. It's nothing to do with you." He reassured the boy, brushing his hair from his face as he sat on the bed by his son.  
"Then why are you sad?"  
Loki swallowed around the lump in his throat. "I'm sad I never got to have a family like yours. Everyone here is so kind and caring, and seeing how your father loves you makes me wish I had that too."  
"But you are part of the family too. And my daddy loves you just as much as he loves me, I can tell." Jamie said around a yawn.  
Smiling softly, the god bent down to kiss the boy's forehead before he got up to speak to said father. He had something he needed to get off his chest. 

"Is he in bed?" Tony asked from where he was, laid out on the couch looking rather exhausted.  
"Yes." Loki said before he perched himself on the edge of the same couch, taking a deep breath for what he was about to say. "I wanted to thank you. For everything you have done for me. You didn't have to come find me in Alfheim, nor did you need to invite me into your home, you could have left well alone and I would have been none the wiser. But you chose to welcome me here, you let me be a part of your's and Jamie's lives and for that I am endlessly grateful."

Tony sat up straight at that heartfelt confession, he could see the trickster god's eyes shining with tears. 

"I have felt happier in these past few months with you than I have in the past few centuries. You have given me a chance to start anew, and you have become the closest thing to a true family than I have ever had. I lost my last family because of this skin, because what I am is to be feared and hated, but you, you didn't even flinch at the change, it was like nothing was different. I have always hated my Jötunn heritage because it made me a monster in everyone's eyes. Except yours, you make me feel like I'm less of monster than I am."

Tony couldn't let that pass, he couldn't let Loki keep believing in that lie. 

"Changing your skin colour doesn't make you a monster Loki, what makes people monsters is their actions. It's not surprising that you snapped and tried to take over after having to deal with so much internalised racism, what they did was not okay and it will never be okay. But what you can do now is move past it, become the better person, prove to them that you are more than what they think. I mean look at me, I used to be a drunkard who sold weapons to the highest bidder, the Merchant of Death, and now I'm sober, I have a son and I save people's lives on a weekly basis. If I can do it I know you can too." 

"So I am not a monster by blood, but a monster by deed." Loki smiled sadly, the tears flowing freely down his cheeks.  
Tony felt exasperated that that was the part Loki had taken away from his inspirational speech.  
"Alright, you want to be a monster that's fine, but that would have to mean I'm a monster for all the deaths I caused too. So I guess we'll just have to be monsters together." 

Loki looked up at that and Tony seized the opportunity, diving in to do what he had been waiting to do for a long time now. As their lips met Loki gasped in his surprise, melting into the contact and welcoming the other's warmth. It had been a long time, too long in fact, for either of them, their excitement brought them into a quick frenzy, though with Loki's godly stamina and his rejuvenating magic, it was hardly a problem for either of them. 

 

~~

Jamie knew that Loki had been really upset yesterday, it wasn't like the god to show his hurt so he knew it was bad. Jamie had been struck by an idea in the early hours of the morning to bring back the cheer and get the god lively again. Once again employing the help of his favourite red-haired assassin Jamie was in the kitchen staring at the oven waiting for their chocolate chip cookies to bake. 

As soon as the timer dinged he was there, opening the door and stepping aside to let Natasha take out the tray. He was filled to the brim with energy as he was forced to wait patiently once again for the cookies to cool until auntie Tasha gave him the alls clear and piled them up onto the plate. The pair tiptoed from the elevator, one more efficiently than the other before they got to Loki's room. 

Jamie was tiredoh of the quiet and the waiting, he could not stand to be patient any longer and he burst into the room with the plate, calling out for Loki to wake up as he scrambled onto the bed, making sure to not tip the plate and loose it's precious contents. 

The boy sat frozen in fear on the edge of the cover. Loki wasn't there. 

He ran from the room in a panic, not bothering with the discarded plate of cookies now,there were more important matters at hand. 

"DADDY!" He practically screamed as he ran down the hall to the other door. "Daddy! Mo-mommy's gone and I can't find him and I made cookies and he's not there and-and-" he sobbed in the doorway. "Where's my mommy?" 

The amount of noise that he had made both adults where awake and shot up. Their instincts had them pumped full of adrenaline at the panicked voice of their son, rubbing the sleep from their eyes they took stick of the situation. Loki recovered first.

"I'm here my darling. It's ok, don't fret, I'm not going anywhere, I promise." Seeing his mother Jamie ran to him, jumping up onto the bed and into Loki's lap where he was wrapped in a warm hug. Loki rubbed gentle circles on Jamie's back, hoping to sooth his worry. 

"I made you cookies but they're in the other room." He grumbled into Loki's chest. Suddenly Jamie sat up straight and looked from Loki to Tony, going back and forth. "Wait, you're in here...it worked!" He exclaimed, jumping down from the bed and running to where auntie Tasha was, arm extended ready for the highest of fives to celebrate their success in getting his parents together. 

Loki was a little slow with keeping up and still had his arms as though hugging an invisible person so Tony took the opportunity to lean over and be that person, kissing his soft blue lips.

"Are you gonna be blue 24/7 now?" He asked, touching his forehead to Loki's.  
As an answer he got blue skin melting back into white, and green eyes staring back in the place of red.  
"Aww, but I liked my Snowflake." The man said giving a pout.  
Loki rolled his eyes. "Your snowflake will return, just not now." 

They both leaned back, collapsing onto the bed and turning to face each other.  
"I suppose we should have the talk huh?" Tony said, grimacing slightly.  
"A discussion would seem in order, yes."  
"So, was this a one hit wonder or a long term thing? Cause I have to say for once, I think I might prefer the long term option." Tony rambled nervously not meeting Loki's eye.  
"I would like this to be more, too." The god replied bringing his hand up to turn Tony's head towards his, just touching their lips softly before pulling back.  
"Only, if- if this doesn't-" now it was Loki's turn to be nervous. 

"Hey, snowflake." Tony smiled softly. "We're gonna work out, trust me. And if we don't, well Pepper and I are still best friends, so you don't need to worry about me kicking out to the streets or anything. Besides, no matter what happens we've both gotta be here for Jamie. We're his parents and he's going to need us, both of us, in his life." 

Loki was nodding, looking relieved by what Tony had just said until something dawned on him and once more his eyes were watering. Tony scooted over quickly, wrapping on arm around his midsection and bringing the other up to wipe away the fresh tears.  
"Loki? Babe? I'm sorry if I said anything to upset you, I wasn't trying to-"  
"No. No, it not you, its Jamie. He called me mommy. He called me mommy." Loki sobbed happily, a smile a mile wide on his face. 

He hadn't got the new start he had planned, but he had gotten a family and a home. He had gotten people who loved and cared for both him and his son with having to lie or put forward falsities to be accepted. No, it was not what Loki had planned,but for once he was entirely happy with how spectacularly his plan had gone awry. 

A cruel twist of fate that was not so cruel after all.

**Works inspired by this one:**

  * [Un crudele scherzo del destino](https://archiveofourown.org/works/2770052) by [EthicsGradient](https://archiveofourown.org/users/EthicsGradient/pseuds/EthicsGradient)




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